Business

Narco Hiccough

The arrest of Yogesh Bakshi, a Nicholas Piramal sales manager, has blown the lid off a flourishing drug racket

Advertisement

Narco Hiccough
info_icon
info_icon

For the Indian government, the case has ramifications which go beyond the addiction that the diversion of Phensedyl is fostering. As the NCB has pointed out in court, the approximate annual Rs 200 crore profit from smuggling the cough syrup goes into "the hands of...smugglers, insurgents and anti-social elements". It adds that, for instance, the NCB has been able to establish a nexus between the smuggling of Phensedyl and the terrorist group, the All Tripura Tiger Force.

Minister of state for home Sri Prakash Jaiswal, while not commenting on the case, said, "Drug smuggling on the Indo-Bangladesh border is causing great concern." Home ministry sources indicated that all zonal heads of the NCB have been summoned for a high-level meeting to discuss the NPIL case next week.

As far as the case is concerned, while the Gujarat high court refused bail to Bakshi, a similar application in the Bombay High Court has resulted in a transit bail for a few days. But the court has asked nine persons, including the presidents of marketing and sales of NPIL—all those involved in the production and sale of Phensedyl—to appear before the metropolitan magistrate in Ahmedabad in the next few days. Government sources added that thus far, the NPIL's defence has been that since the concentration of codeine in Phensedyl is within the legally prescribed permissible limit and the latter is a therapeutic drug, it cannot be classified as a narcotic drug covered under the NDPS Act. It was also argued that the NPIL gets Phensedyl manufactured from a third party and then sends it through various transporters to its four hubs and from there to carrying and forwarding agents at 24 locations. The company, thereafter, loses control and property over the goods once they are sold to the stockists. Thus far, the NCB, sources said, has not been impressed by this line of argument.

Given the sensitivity of the case—which has an international dimension—and the high profile of the company and its chairman, Ajay G. Piramal, officials, both in the NCB and the home ministry, are tight-lipped on the issue. Indeed, government sources said there was a great deal of pressure on the investigating agencies—even from ministers of the previous NDA government—to keep the case under wraps.

After all, NPIL is the flagship company of the Rs 2,500 crore Piramal Enterprises (PEL), one of India's largest diversified business houses, which also has interests in retailing, textiles, auto-components and engineering. The group is headed by Ajay Piramal, who is also the chairman of NPIL. He holds several positions of eminence in Indian industry which includes being a member of the Prime Minister's Council for Trade and Industry and the Prime Minister's Taskforce on Pharmaceuticals and Knowledge-Based Industries, External Director, State Bank of India and Member, Board of Trade (constituted by the ministry of commerce).

At the end of the day, the big question is: was NPIL betrayed by its senior executives or was everyone in the know and quietly raking in the profits? With the case in court, more sordid details of the illegal trade indulged in by senior executives of the company are likely to surface in the days to come.

Advertisement

Tags

    Advertisement

    Advertisement

    Advertisement

    Advertisement

    Advertisement

    Advertisement