120 bottles of cough syrup seized at IGI
NEW DELHI : Customs at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) have arrested a passenger travelling to Riyadh with 120 bottles of the codeine-based cough syrup ‘Phensedyl’.
An official said the syrup is also used by those who are addicted to drugs and hence it is not allowed in the in Gulf.
Taking the syrup without prescription and in this quantity is illegal and so passenger was booked under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act.
“The passenger was stopped for checking and bottles concealed in his hand baggage were recovered. When questioned, he said he was carrying the bottle for someone in Riyadh,” said a customs official.
Codeine-based cough syrups are used for intoxication , especially by youngsters, and popularly known as ‘purple drink’.
Due to its high popularity and availability, this syrup is also in great demand in neighbouring Bangladesh and Myanmar.
A Customs official said smuggling of cough syrups is not very common and the last case was detected about five months ago.
“We usually look for smuggled items coming to India. But recently we have increased our presence at the departure terminal also. As a result, a few cases of smuggling of currency and drugs have been detected. Through profiling we select passenger for frisking and in this case also, the passenger was selected through profiling,” said a customs official.
The passenger was from Deoband and travelling to Riyadh.