Hyderabad: The Narcotics Control Board (NCB) has said that illegal Internet pharmacies are being used for drug trafficking with the help of courier services.
It has also confirmed that there is an emergence of a new psychoactive substance, the mephedrone, popularly called Mcat, which is being widely prescribed and sold over the Internet. The drug was included in the list of psychotropic substances in 2015 with Delhi, Maharashtra and Goa being found as the main sources.
NCB, in a report submitted to the government, said: “The emergence of illegal websites set up in the US, Europe and other countries offering unregulated trading of a range of prescription drugs over the Internet has taken root in India, First Provider These online pharmacies transmit orders to pay customers to agents in India who procure drugs from legitimate or illegitimate sources before sending them to customers by mail and by courier.
According to NCB officials, the large volume of international shipments makes it impossible to inspect all parcels and, therefore, most illegal shipments go undetected by the authorities.
“Internet pharmacies are often highly vulnerable and keep the identity of the organizers veiled. We have been doing at least one bust every year for the last few years,” said one BCN official.
An illicit internet pharmacy was found in Surat, Gujarat, in 2015, which was in the process of delivering three courier packages. “We were seized with alprazolam, methylphenidate powder, zolpidem tablets, tramadol powder, stidonafil tablets and tapentadole at the facilities of Provizer Pharma & Swastik Herbal Care, Surat. Similar bustos were done in other areas and five people were arrested,” he said. .
Deputy Director of the TS Drug Control Administration, T. Kailasam, said: “The Center is reviewing a proposal to regulate Internet pharmacies. At the state level, no action is being taken.”
DCA Associate Director K. Rajabhanu said, “At this time there are no specific guidelines or rules for Internet pharmacy. Because the Internet is huge, it is difficult to control.”
According to the NCB, foreign agents have been involved in the creation of clandestine drug-making laboratories, indicating that India is being used by international criminal networks for the illicit manufacture of amphetamine-type stimulants and methamphetamine.
The BCN, together with Telangana State Police, had dispensed with an illegal laboratory at Rampally, at the Keesara Mandal, on the outskirts of the city. They seized methamphetamine and arrested five people.
The BCN had previously stated that the drugs came from Brazil. In August 2015, NCB had arrested a South African woman who had hidden 51 small capsules in her stomach and one large in her private parts.
Heroin trafficking from Southwest Asia to India is gaining ground, as has the traffic of hashish and cannabis from Nepal to India. Deviation of chemical precursors and other controlled substances, as well as pharmaceutical preparations and prescription drugs containing psychotropic substances is a growing operation.
Illegal operation
The unregulated trade in a range of prescription drugs took firm roots in the country.
Rs10 crore was initially given to the whole country for states to increase their enforcement capacity to combat illicit drug trafficking.
India is considered to be used by some of the international criminal networks for the illicit manufacture of stimulants and other drugs.
