Huge quantity of medicines smuggled from Punjab seized

NOWSHERA: The police on Thursday seized a huge quantity of medicines which were meant for free distribution to poor patients in the Punjab public sector hospitals but had been smuggled to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa for sale in the open market.

It was learnt that Assistant Inspector of Police Zakria Khan of Azakhel Police Station was patrolling the area near the Customs office when he saw a man loading medicines onto a pick-up truck which was bearing the registration number RIH-8635.

The cop got suspicious as there was no medicine shop or health facility in the locality. He checked the medicines and noticed that these had been stamped “Government of Punjab” and “Not for sale.”

The police official went inside the godown and saw that the medicines had been stored in two large rooms. The preliminary questioning from the driver of the pick-up truck, Peer Muhammad, son of Dilaram, a resident of Khattak Killay, revealed such medicines had been smuggled from Punjab into Khyber Pakhtunkhwa since long. These were supplied to other districts of KP. The driver said he was only associated with transportation and had no other link whatsoever.

ASI Zakria Khan later informed his seniors and Deputy Superintendent of Police Khalid Khan and Azakhel Station House Officer Mukhtiar Khan. The other police officials reached the spot along with District Health Officer Dr Gul Zaman Shah and Drug Inspector Khushal Khan.

The police searched the godown in the presence of the DHO and the drug inspector. They found drugs manufactured by various companies stocked there. The police said the drugs destined for Peshawar. The pick-up truck was seized, the driver arrested and the godown was sealed off, the officials said, adding, raids were launched to arrest the owner of the godown. The house is owned by Basheer Badshah, a resident of Swat, who had rented it out as a godown.

The Health Department officials said the seized drugs were expensive. These included antibiotics, oral and injectables. A list of the recovered drugs was being prepared.

It was learnt that the Federal Investigation Agency would register a case and the crime branch of the agency would launch an investigation. The case would be tried in a Drug Court.