FDA and Police Seize Codeine Syrup, Alprazolam in Sohna Raid

GURUGRAM: A joint team of the Haryana Food and Drugs Administration and police seized 49 bottles of codeine-based syrup and 520 Alprazolam tablets during a raid at a residential premises in Kabir Nagar, Sohna, on 12 September, and later arrested a suspect identified as Amir, son of Imraan, Additional Chief Secretary (Health) Sumita Misra said on Monday.

Misra said the raid was led by Mukesh Kumar, drugs control officer, Gurugram-3, with police support, and targeted premises allegedly used for illegal stocking and sale of narcotic medicines. When the team reached the house, women inside locked the entry gate, she said. The team tried to gain entry while some neighbours created a disturbance at the spot.

According to the ACS, a plastic sack containing 49 codeine syrup bottles and a box with 520 Alprazolam tablets was then thrown from the roof onto open land at the rear of the premises. Amir allegedly fled but was later arrested by police, she said.

Codeine-based syrups are prescription opioid medicines. Alprazolam is a prescription sedative. Unlicensed stocking and sale of such drugs is treated as a serious offence under drug control and narcotics-related provisions. Officials said the seizure followed intelligence on alleged illegal trade from the Kabir Nagar premises rather than from a licensed pharmacy counter.

Sohna and adjoining residential pockets have seen repeated FDA and police action against alleged diversion of prescription medicines into informal markets. Joint raids often involve sealed entry points, roof-level disposal of stock when teams arrive, and immediate arrests when suspects try to escape. In this case, Misra's Monday briefing placed the sequence on record through the health department's chain of command.

Police and FDA teams are expected to process the seized syrups and tablets for inventory, sampling and laboratory confirmation where required. Further investigation will examine from where the medicines were procured, to whom they were allegedly being sold, and whether other premises were linked to the same supply. Allegations against Amir remain under investigation and are subject to the charges that police and the drugs control wing place on record.

Residents of Kabir Nagar saw a visible police and FDA presence during the 12 September action. Officials said obstruction at the gate and the throwing of stock from the roof will also form part of the case narrative. No claim of a licensed retail permission for the residential premises was mentioned in the ACS briefing.

Health administrators have repeatedly warned that codeine syrups and benzodiazepine tablets diverted from the cold chain and prescription system create both public-health and law-and-order risks. Monday's disclosure closes the loop on a weekend raid by putting seizure numbers, the named drugs control officer, and the arrest on the official record.