New Delhi, Jun 7 (PTI) The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) on Saturday said it has busted an illegal drugs-manufacturing unit in Uttarakhand's Haridwar as part of a six-month-long investigation that has led to the arrest of eight people and the seizure of about 150 kg of narcotics and pharmaceutical tablets.
The factory, located in the SIIDCUL (State Infrastructure and Industrial Development Corporation of Uttarakhand Limited) area of Haridwar, was operating without a valid drug-manufacturing licence.
It was found that psychotropic substances were being manufactured in bulk at the factory for illegal trafficking. It was busted on Friday, the federal anti-narcotics agency said in a statement.
The operation, spread across Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand, started with the interception of a courier containing 3.6 kg of codeine phosphate tablets in Delhi on January 9, NCB officials said.
Follow-up searches were conducted in Delhi and neighbouring Ghaziabad in Uttar Pradesh, leading to the seizure of tablets like 9.14 kg of alprazolam, 2.36 kg of codeine phosphate, about 10,000 multiple brand NRx tablets, 1.38 kg of psuedoephedrine and 130.44 kg of raw material in loose form, they added.
Eight people have so far been arrested as part of the investigation and more individuals are under the NCB's scanner, the officials said.
The NCB is committed to disrupting trans-national and interstate drug networks to achieve the vision of a drugs-free India, the statement said.