Illegal cough syrups make way to Mumbai from UP

Codeine abuse is rampant among youngsters in city’s low-income pockets such as Govandi, Mankhurd, Dharavi, Kurla. Costing around Rs 150 – 250, CBSC is affordable, and so, popular in these lower income pockets.

As per data provided by Anti Narcotics Cell (ANC), they seized 22,798 bottles in Mumbai alone last year while in the current year, they have seized 5,680 bottles till August.

Several current and former officers of NCB and the ANC of Mumbai Police confirmed to The Indian Express that codeine, from its manufacturing spot in Baddi, which is a hub for legitimate manufacture of cough syrups, reaches the city via several states.

“Owing to the massive stock at Dawa Mandi, several suppliers manage to divert cough syrups to UP which are not shown on record,” an NCB officer said.

NCB officers said that in the two cases cited above, the same person in Varanasi’s Dawa Mandi, who was eventually arrested, supplied codeine to Mumbai.

“In one case where they seized 7,200 bottles from Bhiwandi in June and arrested two persons, the supply came from Dawa Mandi to Bhusawal,” said Amit Ghawate, NCB Mumbai Zonal Unit Director.

In August, a consignment of 13,248 bottles of codeine seized in Mumbai had come from Pune via tempos. Tracking the source led the NCB to Dawa Mandi again.

“Our team stayed in Dawa Mandi for nearly a month in order to zero in on the person and arrested him on August 19. We have found that codeine is supplied illegally from Dawa Mandi to various parts of the country, especially Mumbai which has a high demand,” the officer said.

A Mumbai-based person who has two medical shops in central Mumbai was the one who sought supply of codeine to further distribute illegally. The officer said, “They were supplying nearly 40,000 bottles of codeine to the city every single day through their network. In the city, peddlers would transport it through taxis and tempos.”

ANC DCP Datta Nalawade said, “Apart from UP, Gujarat is another state from where we have found codeine supply. However, in some cases, the bottles coming from Gujarat have also been sourced from UP. Varanasi is also one of the places that has been found to be one of the suppliers.”

An ANC official said that in the city, the accused either uses the registration papers of a legitimate medical shop after reaching an understanding with the owner, or create fake registration license in the name of a medical shop. The medical shop only appears on paper. In the August case conducted by NCB, one of the accused had two medical shops in central Mumbai while he had created fake paperwork for two more which enabled him to get codeine supply from distributors. In order to get permission for a medical shop, one requires medical registration from the Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) which is available to those who have a degree in pharmacy. “Distributors don’t really check details as long as they are able to sell,” an official said.

The officer said that since rules are lax in UP, it is comparatively easier to get cough syrups, so it is also emerging as a supply point to other states through distributors – including both genuine and fake.

A former NCB official said there are several reasons codeine smuggling is rampant, primary among them being that law enforcement agencies do not take abuse of the drug seriously. “If we go to another state to conduct a raid, they are surprised that we came all the way just for codeine,” the official said.

However, cough syrup abuse by kids is a major issue in a city like Mumbai. After NCB busted the codeine supply network in August, several parents from Dharavi, whose kids who were addicted to cough syrups, came to thank the agency.

Dr Rama Shyam, who has worked with youngsters in areas where the cough syrup abuse prevails, said, “They refer to cough syrup as Corex and on most occasions, the first name is Corex which is then followed by Vicks, correction fluid, and other hard drugs. In that sense, cough syrup is an entry point for youngsters into the world of drugs,” she said.

“I am worried about the impact this has on their neuro-transmitters which will hamper the cognitive development of an entire generation that no one seems to care about,” Dr Shyam added.