Telangana drug enforcement authorities have issued show-cause notices to 125 medical shops after raids found alleged violations in the sale and dispensing of habit-forming medicines across the CURE region and other districts, the Telangana Standards Authority for Food and Essential Drugs (TG SAFE) said on Wednesday.
The action followed inspections by the TG-SAFE drugs wing and enforcement wing police personnel at medical shops in the Medchal and Serilingampally zones, as well as in districts across the state. Officials used decoy operations and test purchases to check whether pharmacies were selling controlled medicines indiscriminately.
The medicines examined during the operations included Tramadol, Alprazolam, Nitrazepam, Tapentadol and Zolpidem tablets. The teams also looked at Codeine-containing cough syrups and formulations containing Pregabalin, all of which were included in the enforcement exercise because of their potential for misuse and dependence.
According to TG SAFE, officials found instances where habit-forming medicines were allegedly sold without prescriptions issued by registered medical practitioners. Other violations included failure to maintain prescription drug registers and Schedule H1 drug registers, and dispensing prescription medicines when a registered pharmacist was not present.
The inspections also identified gaps in the documentation required for pharmaceutical sales. Some shops allegedly sold medicines without issuing bills, while others failed to maintain or produce sales and purchase bills. TG SAFE also cited irregularities in maintaining copies of those records.
The notices initiate departmental proceedings against the medical shops. Depending on the findings during the process, the action may include suspension or cancellation of drug licences, the authority said. The notices therefore place both the dispensing practices and compliance systems of the affected shops under scrutiny.
The enforcement drive highlights the role of pharmacy-level controls in preventing the unauthorised circulation of prescription and habit-forming medicines. Prescription registers, Schedule H1 records, bills and the presence of a registered pharmacist are among the mechanisms used to establish who supplied medicines, under what authority and through which licensed outlet.
For residents in the Medchal and Serilingampally zones and the other districts covered by the raids, the immediate issue is whether medicines requiring clinical oversight are being dispensed through regulated channels. The notices do not represent final licence cancellations; they begin departmental action, with the affected shops required to respond to the violations identified by TG SAFE.
TG SAFE said further action, including possible suspension or cancellation of licences, would follow the show-cause proceedings based on the violations recorded during the enforcement operations.
