20 lakh tablets seized in biggest pharma drug haul in Lucknow

Written By : Ruchika Sharma |Medically Reviewed By : Dr. Kamal Kant Kohli Published On 2025-07-17T10:30:02+05:30 | Updated On 17 July 2025 10:30 AM IST

Lucknow: The Central Bureau of Narcotics (CBN), Lucknow Zone, has recovered nearly 20 lakh tablets of controlled medicines and 5,700 bottles of codeine syrup in two-day raids in the state capital.

The raid, carried out on July 15 and 16 at a godown in the Old Medicine Market of Nayagaon (West), Aminabad, was based on intelligence developed from the seizure last week in which over 5,000 bottles of fake cough syrup were seized, Deputy Narcotics Commissioner (Lucknow Zone) Praveen Bali said.

During a thorough search of the premises, officials recovered illicit 18,47,850 tablets of Alprazolam, 2,19,778 tablets of Tramadol, 13,175 ampoules of Buprenorphine, 700 ampoules of Pentazocine, 1,770 tablets of Clonazepam and 5,700 bottles (38 boxes) of codeine-based syrup.

All the drugs fall under the category of psychotropic substances or narcotic drugs regulated under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985.

According to PTI, Bali added, "One person has already been arrested in connection with the seizure, while another accused is currently absconding. Efforts are on to apprehend him. Further investigation is in progress,"

This massive seizure comes days after another major bust on July 11, when CBN officials arrested a man from a house in Lucknow and recovered 5,353 bottles of spurious cough syrup.

Read also: Over 5300 bottles of fake cough syrup seized, 1 arrested

According to Bali, "The syrup was laced with banned sedatives such as Alprazolam and Clonazepam and falsely labelled as Codeine Syrup using the branding of reputed pharmaceutical companies."

Bali had earlier said that the accused had no valid licence or documentation to store or distribute such medicines.

central bureau of narcoticscodeine syrupraidalprazolamtramadolbuprenorphinepentazocineclonazepam

Source : with inputs

Ruchika Sharma

Ruchika Sharma joined Medical Dialogue as an Correspondent for the Business Section in 2019. She covers all the updates in the Pharmaceutical field, Policy, Insurance, Business Healthcare, Medical News, Health News, Pharma News, Healthcare and Investment. She has completed her B.Com from Delhi University and then pursued postgraduation in M.Com. She can be contacted at editorial@medicaldialogues.in Contact no. 011-43720751

Dr. Kamal Kant Kohli

Dr Kamal Kant Kohli-MBBS, DTCD- a chest specialist with more than 30 years of practice and a flair for writing clinical articles, Dr Kamal Kant Kohli joined Medical Dialogues as a Chief Editor of Medical News. Besides writing articles, as an editor, he proofreads and verifies all the medical content published on Medical Dialogues including those coming from journals, studies,medical conferences,guidelines etc. Email: drkohli@medicaldialogues.in. Contact no. 011-43720751