The illegal use of cough syrup as an intoxicant is on the rise in some parts of the State and unscrupulous elements want to encash on the demand for it. In an example, the Purunakataka police seized a huge quantity of cough syrup from a vehicle on National Highway-57 in Boudh district and arrested a person on Wednesday night. The arrested person was identified as Satambar Bagh of Gadarpali in Nuapada district.
On a tipoff, a police team seized the cough syrup worth around Rs 3 lakh from a Mahindra Scorpio SUV on the NH-57 near Puranakatak. During a search found 16 boxes of the drug of Escof brand. The syrup was being transported to Balangir from Bhubaneswar.
Further investigation is on to ascertain involvement of other persons in the racket. Addictive use of cough syrup is a major health concern for the State Government. Some chemists are allegedly selling cough syrup to addicted youths with high codeine content at a high price.