Mumbai: COO of pharma firm held for smuggling ‘IS drug’

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The Central Intelligence Unit (CIU) of Mumbai Customs department has arrested a top official with a Bengaluru-based pharma company, after investigations allegedly pinpointed his involvement in smuggling Tramadol, a scheduled drug in India, to Sudan earlier this year.

A potent painkiller in high demand on the black market, Tramadol carries the dubious distinction of being used by soldiers of the Islamic State (IS) while on the battlefield. Customs officials said that on February 23 this year, the CIU had intercepted a consignment at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport, which was declared to be Tamol-X, a calcium carbonate tablet, but was found to contain 21 packages of a total of 10.5 lakh tablets of Tramadol.

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The consignment was being exported to Sudan by First Wealth Solutions based in Virgonagar, Bengaluru but was intercepted. "Samples from the consignment were sent for testing to the Central Revenues Control Laboratory (CRCL) in New Delhi, which confirmed the tablets to be Tramadol. Subsequently, the Chief Operating Officer of First Wealth Solutions, Gudipati Subramanyam, was summoned for inquiries," said a Customs officer. The officer added that during questioning, Subramanyam confessed to have illegally exported Tramadol in the past as well, after which he was arrested.

224 kg
Quantity of Tramadol that was intercepted