Illegal Tramadol Supply Chain Busted in Uttarakhand; Six Arrested
Chandigarh/Amritsar, July 31
Police Recover 74,465 Tramadol Pills, 325 kg Raw Material, and ₹7.69 Lakh in Drug Money
Seized Tramadol Strips Marked “Government Supply Only – Not for Sale” Raise Alarms: DGP Gaurav Yadav
Accused Admit to Illegal Sales to Recall Lifesciences: CP Gurpreet Bhullar
In a significant blow to the illegal pharmaceutical opioid network, as part of the ongoing anti-drug campaign directed by Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann, the Amritsar Police Commissionerate has dismantled a Tramadol supply chain traced from a small recovery of 35 tablets in Amritsar to a manufacturing unit in Haridwar, Uttarakhand.
Investigation and Recoveries
The breakthrough followed the arrest of a local peddler, Ravinder Singh alias Nikka, and the recovery of 35 Tramadol tablets, leading to an FIR at Police Station A-Division, Amritsar. Through meticulous backward and forward tracing, police escalated their haul within 15 days to:
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74,465 Tramadol tablets
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50 Alprazolam tablets
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325 kg of Tramadol raw material
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₹7.69 lakh in drug money
Arrests and Key Findings
DGP Gaurav Yadav revealed that six individuals were arrested, including chemists, distributors, and the plant head of Lucent Biotech Ltd., Roorkee. The arrested individuals are:
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Hari Kishore, Plant Manager, Lucent Biotech Ltd.
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Bikram, Owner-cum-Partner, Recall Lifesciences, Roorkee
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Manish Kumar Arora
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Pooran Jatav
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Kulwinder Singh alias Kinda, medical store owner, Kathunangal
A major concern is that the seized TRAKEMi-100 Tramadol strips were marked “Government Supply Only – Not for Sale,” indicating illegal diversion of medical stock meant for government use.
Raids and Ongoing Probes
Commissioner of Police (CP) Gurpreet Singh Bhullar detailed that a joint team of Amritsar Police and drug inspectors raided pharma units in Roorkee, Haridwar, recovering 4,130 unlabelled Tramadol tablets and 325 kg of unregistered raw material, in addition to the earlier seizure of 70,335 tablets and ₹7.69 lakh in drug money. Key pharma units violating norms have been sealed, and their records are under scrutiny.
During interrogation, Hari Kishore admitted to printing “Government Supply Only – Not for Sale” on TRAKEMi-100 strips at the manufacturing unit and later destroying the stamp. He also confessed to illegally selling Tramadol tablets, meant for another legal firm, to Recall Lifesciences, Roorkee.
Legal Action and Next Steps
A case has been registered under FIR No. 108, dated July 16, 2025, under sections 22, 27(A), 29, and 31 of the NDPS Act and section 223 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) at Police Station A-Division, Amritsar. CP Bhullar stated that additional suspects in the opioid supply network have been identified, and raids are underway to apprehend them.
DGP Yadav emphasized that the investigation continues to uncover further links in this illegal supply chain, reinforcing Punjab’s zero-tolerance policy against drug trafficking.
