Raipur: In a major crackdown on the illegal drug trade, Raipur Police arrested a 33-year-old man from Durg and seized 249 bottles of banned codeine-based cough syrup near Gudhiyari on Friday.
As part of an ongoing campaign against drug trafficking and the illegal sale of narcotics, Deputy Commissioner of Police (North Zone) Mayank Gurjar had directed officers to intensify surveillance across the city.
Acting on a tip-off received on June 5, police learned that a suspect carrying contraband was searching for customers near Jhabak Petrol Pump under the jurisdiction of Gudhiyari Police Station. Following instructions from DCP Mayank Gurjar, a team supervised by Additional DCP Akash Markam and ACP Purnima Lama moved to verify the information.
The police team identified and detained the suspect, who was later identified as Anil Kumar Sahu, a resident of Mangal Wada in Charoda, Durg district.
During a search of his bag, officers recovered 249 bottles of banned codeine-based cough syrup, amounting to a total of 25 litres. Sahu failed to produce any valid licence or documents authorizing possession of such a commercial quantity of the substance and allegedly attempted to mislead investigators.
Police seized the cough syrup along with a mobile phone, with the total value of the confiscated items estimated at ₹1.40 lakh.
A case has been registered against the accused under Section 21(c) of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act at Gudhiyari Police Station, and he has been arrested.
Police are now investigating the forward and backward linkages of the seizure to identify the source of the contraband and trace the individuals who were expected to receive it.
