1 held in joint operation: Drugs worth Rs 686 cr seized in Maharajganj

“On Tuesday, the Thuthibari police station in-charge was informed that one Govind Prasad Gupta and his brother are dealing in narcotic drugs in Jumaikalan village and has a big stock of drugs stored there. It was informed that from his home, he supplies drugs to addicts who purchase injections, tablets and syrups. Acting on the information, the station in-charge informed SDM Nichlaul and reached the village with a SSB team on Wednesday. The house was raided and one person was arrested from the spot,” read the statement.

“The arrested accused was questioned and later identified as Govind’s brother Ramesh Kumar Gupta, 55. His house was checked and several prohibited narcotic drugs were recovered in a huge quantity. In two buckets, several injection ampoules were soaked in water so that the price stamp on them can be removed easily. Once the original price stamp is removed, new stamps are pasted on the ampoules,” the statement added.

Based on the recovery, an FIR under sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, Drugs and Cosmetics Act, IPC and the Copyright Act has been registered. The recovery include 25,180 injections in 104 bags, 18,782 vials of narcotic syrups, over 3.13 lakh capsules, over 1.24 lakh tablets, and over 1.34 lakh printed rice labels.

Maharajganj SP Pradeep Gupta said both the accused, Ramesh Gupta and his absconding brother Govind, owned a medical store while running an illegal drug business in the background. He added that they are still investigating how and from where the accused acquired the narcotics, and who their customers were.