Illegal cough syrup racket busted in Bhubaneswar

Bhubaneswar: A major illegal cough syrup trade has been exposed in the capital city, Bhubaneswar. A container loaded with banned cough syrup was seized while being transported to Balasore via the city.

The Special Task Force (STF), along with the Drug Controller, conducted a joint raid at a logistics stock house in Nakhara and recovered 71 cartons of cough syrup. According to officials, around 8,400 bottles were found inside the seized cartons.

As per the reports the cough syrup was manufactured in Prayagraj and was being transported from Bhubaneswar to Balasore when the authorities intercepted the consignment. Acting on a tip-off, the STF and Drug Control Board carried out the raid and successfully seized the illegal stock.

Notably, authorities have remained on high alert following incidents last year in Tamil Nadu, where the consumption of contaminated cough syrup led to the deaths of several children.

Earlier, Sambalpur Police had also conducted a major crackdown, seizing around 5,000 bottles of cough syrup and arresting 20 individuals. In another case, Bureipali Police confiscated 5,100 bottles of Corex and detained 20 persons in connection with illegal trade.