USDEA stages worldwide raids, Agra doc arrested for leading online drug ring
VIJAY UPADHYAY
AGRA, 21 APR. United States Drug Enforcement Administration (USDEA) & Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), India have jointly busted an “online pharmacy” racket in Agra, operated by a reputed local medico and his medical student son in the United States and a number of other countries including Australia, Canada & UK. The gang busted in Agra supplied Indian manufactured drugs to more than 200 e-pharmacy websites globally.
In a raid conducted by NCB & DEA officials in Agra on Tuesday & Wednesday at the residence of Dr. Brij Bhushan Bansal & his brother Anil Bansal who is a practicing advocate in Agra Sessions Court, the NCB authorities have seized more than 20 thousand tablets, ampoules & capsules of psychotropic & narcotic drugs that were meant to be sold “online” through a website that was being operated by Dr. Bansal’s son Akhil Bansal a student in the United States alongwith another Indian student Atul Patil.
Dr. Akhil too has been arrested by the DEA in the United States alongwith his sister Julie & her family in Jaipur, India. A computer operator Himanshu Kulshreshtha was also arrested at the Doctor’s residence but was later released by the police in the absence of sufficient incriminating evidence.
Achal Sharma, the accused medico’s counsel claimed that his client had a valid export license to export medicines and everything he did was perfectly in conformation of the Indian laws. He said that the prosecution’s claims have no substance as even though Dr. Brijbhushan Bansal was found to be in possession of psychotropic drugs, he had a valid drug license to go with it.
Immediately after he was arrested, Dr. Bansal complained of chest pain and was admitted in a local hospital where he was interrogated by the NCB officials and later handed over by the Special Judge (Narcotics Drugs & Prohibited Substances Act), Mohd. Adil Khan in police custody for two days.
Talking to The Pioneer on Thursday, Rajiv Walia, Dy. Director General, Narcotics Control Bureau said that these arrests have come as a part of a global initiative taken by USDEA to stop the illegal trafficking of controlled substances including narcotic & psychotropic drugs through the Internet. He said that the spread of this “online pharmacy” was not limited to India, but it also had branches in Australia, Canada, UK, Greece & several other countries.
According to Mr. Walia, this gang was under surveillance by the DEA and its counterparts in the various countries for the past four months for supplying more than 2.5 million doses of narcotics and other psychotropic drugs to the American citizens and after Akhil Bansal was arrested in the United States a few days back, a simultaneous raid was conducted at all marked locations in these countries on Tuesday and 20 people were arrested in this connection out of which, six were arrested in India itself. He said that though the DEA was the leading authority in all these arrests, the arrests have been made under the narcotics acts & provisions of the respective countries.
He said that the Agra medico acted as the “coordinator” in this racket and also exported these drugs from India to the United States & other locations in the world and when he was arrested with his brother, they were found to be in possession of several thousand tablets, vials & capsules containing psychotropic & narcotic drugs like codeine sulphate, cetamine hydrochloride, zolpidem tartarate & alprazolam that are essentially classified as “controlled substances” in both ND&PS Act in India and by the USDEA, prohibiting their sale without a justified prescription from a registered medical practitioner.
DEA sources inform that an estimated 6.2 million Americans use prescription drugs like pain relievers, sedatives/tranquilizers or stimulants for non-medical purposes, mostly sourcing them from online websites. The initiative taken by the authority was a part of the coordinated national strategy announced by the US government in 2004 to prevent the misuse, abuse and diversion of psychotherapeutic drugs.
Sources inform that the DEA was working in close coordination in this matter, in full conformation of the Single convention on Narcotic Drugs & the Convention on Psychotropic Substances and other international agreements & treaties that entered into force in United States in the year 1980 as most of the e-pharmacies operating on the internet, engaged in the online diversion of controlled substances were either based or were being operated from foreign countries and in March 2004, the DEA had 95 open investigations involving the online sales of controlled substances without a prescription.
According to the sources, till March 2004, the DEA had made 76 arrests & seized 169 tonnes of drug paraphernalia worth more than Rs. 27 million under their operations – “Pipe Dreams” & “Head Hunter”, targeting 65 such businesses including 10 in the Western district of Pennsylvania and 11 online paraphernalia websites and the Agra arrests have also come as a part of this global initiative taken by the DEA.
(UNITED NEWS NETWORK)
AGRA, 21 APR. United States Drug Enforcement Administration (USDEA) & Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), India have jointly busted an “online pharmacy” racket in Agra, operated by a reputed local medico and his medical student son in the United States and a number of other countries including Australia, Canada & UK. The gang busted in Agra supplied Indian manufactured drugs to more than 200 e-pharmacy websites globally.
In a raid conducted by NCB & DEA officials in Agra on Tuesday & Wednesday at the residence of Dr. Brij Bhushan Bansal & his brother Anil Bansal who is a practicing advocate in Agra Sessions Court, the NCB authorities have seized more than 20 thousand tablets, ampoules & capsules of psychotropic & narcotic drugs that were meant to be sold “online” through a website that was being operated by Dr. Bansal’s son Akhil Bansal a student in the United States alongwith another Indian student Atul Patil.
Dr. Akhil too has been arrested by the DEA in the United States alongwith his sister Julie & her family in Jaipur, India. A computer operator Himanshu Kulshreshtha was also arrested at the Doctor’s residence but was later released by the police in the absence of sufficient incriminating evidence.
Achal Sharma, the accused medico’s counsel claimed that his client had a valid export license to export medicines and everything he did was perfectly in conformation of the Indian laws. He said that the prosecution’s claims have no substance as even though Dr. Brijbhushan Bansal was found to be in possession of psychotropic drugs, he had a valid drug license to go with it.
Immediately after he was arrested, Dr. Bansal complained of chest pain and was admitted in a local hospital where he was interrogated by the NCB officials and later handed over by the Special Judge (Narcotics Drugs & Prohibited Substances Act), Mohd. Adil Khan in police custody for two days.
Talking to The Pioneer on Thursday, Rajiv Walia, Dy. Director General, Narcotics Control Bureau said that these arrests have come as a part of a global initiative taken by USDEA to stop the illegal trafficking of controlled substances including narcotic & psychotropic drugs through the Internet. He said that the spread of this “online pharmacy” was not limited to India, but it also had branches in Australia, Canada, UK, Greece & several other countries.
According to Mr. Walia, this gang was under surveillance by the DEA and its counterparts in the various countries for the past four months for supplying more than 2.5 million doses of narcotics and other psychotropic drugs to the American citizens and after Akhil Bansal was arrested in the United States a few days back, a simultaneous raid was conducted at all marked locations in these countries on Tuesday and 20 people were arrested in this connection out of which, six were arrested in India itself. He said that though the DEA was the leading authority in all these arrests, the arrests have been made under the narcotics acts & provisions of the respective countries.
He said that the Agra medico acted as the “coordinator” in this racket and also exported these drugs from India to the United States & other locations in the world and when he was arrested with his brother, they were found to be in possession of several thousand tablets, vials & capsules containing psychotropic & narcotic drugs like codeine sulphate, cetamine hydrochloride, zolpidem tartarate & alprazolam that are essentially classified as “controlled substances” in both ND&PS Act in India and by the USDEA, prohibiting their sale without a justified prescription from a registered medical practitioner.
DEA sources inform that an estimated 6.2 million Americans use prescription drugs like pain relievers, sedatives/tranquilizers or stimulants for non-medical purposes, mostly sourcing them from online websites. The initiative taken by the authority was a part of the coordinated national strategy announced by the US government in 2004 to prevent the misuse, abuse and diversion of psychotherapeutic drugs.
Sources inform that the DEA was working in close coordination in this matter, in full conformation of the Single convention on Narcotic Drugs & the Convention on Psychotropic Substances and other international agreements & treaties that entered into force in United States in the year 1980 as most of the e-pharmacies operating on the internet, engaged in the online diversion of controlled substances were either based or were being operated from foreign countries and in March 2004, the DEA had 95 open investigations involving the online sales of controlled substances without a prescription.
According to the sources, till March 2004, the DEA had made 76 arrests & seized 169 tonnes of drug paraphernalia worth more than Rs. 27 million under their operations – “Pipe Dreams” & “Head Hunter”, targeting 65 such businesses including 10 in the Western district of Pennsylvania and 11 online paraphernalia websites and the Agra arrests have also come as a part of this global initiative taken by the DEA.
(UNITED NEWS NETWORK)
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