Uttarakhand intensifies crackdown on illegal drug practices under CM Dhami's 'Anti-Drug' campaign

In a major step towards enforcing Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami’s "Nasha Mukt Uttarakhand" (Drug-Free Uttarakhand) campaign, the Food Safety and Drug Administration Department on Wednesday conducted surprise inspections at the premises of five wholesale drug distributors in Dehradun.

During the checks, one firm was found closed and was opened in the presence of the property owner, where illegally stored psychotropic medicines were discovered. Since the owner was absent, the entire stock was sealed and a ban was imposed on all transactions. The firm was also sealed for further legal action.

Health Secretary and Commissioner of Food Safety and Drug Administration, Dr. R. Rajesh Kumar, stated that in line with the Chief Minister’s vision, the state’s top priority is to make Uttarakhand free from drug abuse and pharmaceutical misuse. He said the drug department has been instructed to exercise zero tolerance in cases of expired medicines, illegal drug storage, and unlicensed operations. He added that any firm found violating regulations would face strict legal action, and reminded that drug traders had already been issued clear instructions on the proper disposal of expired medicines, with the department continuously working in that direction.

In another raid on Turner Road in Dehradun, drug inspectors acted on a tip-off regarding the illegal disposal of expired medicines. The team recovered discarded pharmaceutical items from a plot at C-5 Turner Road and destroyed them on the spot. Authorities are working to identify the individual or firm responsible, and once confirmed, strict punitive action will follow.

As part of the same operation, samples of three medicines were collected from the site for quality testing and sent to the laboratory. Further legal steps will be taken based on the test results. The inspection team included Manendra Singh Rana (team leader), along with Drug Inspectors Vinod Jagudi and Nidhi Raturi.

Meanwhile, in Haridwar, a major bust took place as Senior Drug Inspector Anita Bharti and her team seized the active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) required to manufacture approximately 3.5 lakh Tramadol tablets. This timely seizure prevented what could have been a significant illegal drug distribution chain. The operation also enabled authorities to intercept a major consignment of Tramadol being supplied to Punjab.

Following a lead from Punjab, where 70,000 Tramadol tablets were confiscated, Bharti’s team conducted a joint raid with Punjab Police at Lucent Biotech Pvt. Ltd. in Haridwar. The raid was deemed essential to gather information related to the previously seized consignment, which was found to have been manufactured by the same company.

Under the supervision of the Drug Controller, the state has already issued instructions to all pharmaceutical sellers and manufacturers to ensure timely and proper disposal of expired drugs. The department confirmed that such inspections and vigilance operations will continue regularly to ensure strict compliance across Uttarakhand.