Navi Mumbai’s Anti-Narcotics Cell and the state Food and Drug Administration seized 2,220 Pregabalin capsules during a raid at a medical store in Panvel, after officials received information that the medicine was allegedly being sold without prescriptions and at higher prices for intoxication.
The raid was conducted on September 25 at Mahadev Medical and General Store in Asudgaon, Sector 4A, Panvel taluka, by the Navi Mumbai Crime Branch’s Anti-Narcotics Cell in coordination with the FDA. Officials seized 15 packets containing 150 capsules from the medical store, according to the FIR and details reported by the Times of India.
The authorities said the store’s purchase and sale records did not contain details of the seized medicine in the register and inventory. A further 2,070 Pregabalin capsules were seized from the person identified by investigators as the supplier.
An FIR has been registered at Khandeshwar police station against two medical store owners, Narayan Singh Bhopal Singh, 50, and Anil Shankarlal Prajapati, 26, along with supplier Vishal Mahipati Bhosale, 30. Sandeep Nigade, senior inspector of the Anti-Narcotics Cell, said the three accused had not been arrested but had been served notices under the Bharatiya Nagrik Suraksha Sanhita.
The case invokes provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita relating to actions endangering the life or personal safety of others and joint criminal liability. The FIR also cites the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940, including the provision making it illegal to manufacture, sell, stock, exhibit, offer for sale or distribute a drug or cosmetic without a valid licence.
Pregabalin is a prescription medicine, and the reported seizure places attention on how pharmacy-level controls operate in rapidly expanding urban areas such as Panvel and Navi Mumbai. The case involves both the retail sale of medicines and the supply chain through which the products reached the store. The authorities have not stated in the supplied report how long the alleged sales had been taking place or whether any patients had obtained the capsules from the store.
Nigade said the FDA had served a notice to the medical store owners seeking cancellation of the store’s licence. The department has also sought details of the seized medicine stocks and their sale to patients. The distributor is expected to be questioned by the FDA regarding the supply of the medicine to Bhosale.
The next steps in the case are the FDA’s examination of the medicine records and licensing action, along with the police investigation into the alleged sale and supply of the capsules.
