Shop selling medicinal drugs to addicts raided

MP | 25 Oct 2018 | Darjeeling: Darjeeling Police on Thursday raided a medicine shop at Sadar Hospital premises in Darjeeling and recovered large quantities of medicinal drugs that were allegedly being sold to drug abusers and addicts.

One person has been arrested in this connection. The owner of the shop is absconding. Police have locked the store.

"We were receiving constant information that this shop located at the premises of the government hospital was supplying drugs to addicts. At around 11:30 am, police personnel posing as decoy customers arrived at the shop and purchased these medicines. A large quantity of this cough syrup and pain killers were seized by the police," stated Siddharth Dorjee, Deputy Superintendent of Police, Darjeeling.

Around 136 bottles of Elturex-T cough syrup containing codeine phosphate (induces drowsiness) along with 2000 tablets of Spasme-Diyevon C+ (anti-spasmodic) were seized from Gorkha Medical Store. One Puran Chettri, a resident of Chandmari, Darjeeling who works at the store was arrested and charged under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act. "The owner of the shop is absconding. We have locked the store. A man hunt has been launched," added the DSP.

Sources said though the marked price of the tablet is Rs 45 for eight tablets, the shop used to sell eight tablets for around Rs 150. The cough syrup marked at Rs 115 used to be sold for Rs 300.

Police also found a huge number of empty cough syrup bottles at the store. Sources said one could pay and drink the cough syrup at the store itself and leave behind the empty bottles.

Medicinal drug abuse is a major problem plaguing the Hills.