Valsad:

The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) teams raided a medicine factory in Sarigam area of Vapi in Valsad district from where large cache of banned pain killer drug Tramadol, which had gained notoriety owing to its wide-spread use by ISIS terrorists.

A DRI official without divulging much details confirmed the raid and said that the cache of drug recovered was worth crores of rupees. The raid which was started earlier in the day with the involvement of Surat, Vapi and Ahmedabad DRI officilas was on till late evening. Around 10 people have also reportedly been detained.

Meanwhile it is understood that the raid in Vapi factory is being conducted following an earlier raid on another drug factory in Palghar of Maharashtra on Sunday from where over 4.40 crore Tramadol tablets worth over Rs 50 crore were seized.

The raid in Vapi is understood to be on the basis of interrogation of the 3 people caught during Palghar raid.
Tramadol was banned in India last month. Abused by addicts worldwide, the drug is also used by ISIS fighters to suppress pain and fatigue. Hence, it is also known as the ‘fighter drug’.

Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) had sought to bring Tramadol under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act after it discovered that the drug was smuggled internationally through India and had links to terrorists group such as ISIS.

When the drug was legal, prescription was necessary to purchase it. The drug is smuggled out of the country through couriers and carriers to countries such as US and Canada, among others.

Tramadol, a painkiller, has been declared as a psychotropic substance and was brought under the control of NDPS Act by the Centre in April. After the ban, law enforcement agencies can arrest and prosecute those manufacturing or selling the drug.

A DRI official said that official information about the raid in Vapi would be shared later.

DeshGujarat