Illegal cough syrup unit busted in Pilibhit

Police on Tuesday busted an illegal cough syrup manufacturing unit operating from a house here and arrested a man for his alleged involvement in the trade, officials said.

The raid was conducted by a team of Ghungchai police, during which 375 bottles of spurious cough syrup were recovered. The police also seized empty bottles, caps, wrappers, processing equipment, a gas cylinder and a motorcycle, the officials said.  Circle Officer (Puranpur) Prateek Dahiya said the accused has been identified as Suresh Kumar (41), a resident of Lah village. A case has been registered against him under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Trade Marks Act. During interrogation, Kumar told police that he had earlier worked as a medical compounder. He later learnt how to manufacture fake cough syrup by watching videos on YouTube.

The accused admitted to preparing the mixture using spirit, flavouring and syrup solutions. He told investigators that 10 vials cost only Rs 75-80 to produce, which he then sold to drug addicts and local met Rs 600 and Rs 800, the officer said.

Kumar supplied the fake medicine to various medical stores in the Puranpur area, he said, adding that the accused been sent to jail, and further investigations are underway to identify other members of the racket.