Hyderabad: During recent raids by the Drugs Control Administration (DCA) Telangana and the state excise department, illegal stocks of narcotics including ketamine, fentanyl, pentazocine, morphine and midazolam were seized from over 12 private hospitals.
However insiders say the problem is much more widespread. The pharmacies attached to most private hospitals in the city do not have the necessary licence to sell the drugs, and the hospitals rely on brokers, a cartel that supplies narcotics illegally and operates in a highly coordinated way across state borders to meet the needs of most hospitals.
In one of the two cases cracked in the last 10 days, the main accused, Neha Bhagwat, who was found supplying narcotics to several hospitals, had set up a network in Nagpur. “While investigating the second case, we found that two accused in that case, Abdul Rahman and T Naresh Kumar, were also linked to the network of Neha Bhagwat,” said VB Kamalasan Reddy, director general, DCA Telangana, adding that while most of the drugs supplied to hospitals are used for surgeries, there is also some pilferage.
In fact, this whole system exists when there is no shortage of these drugs on the market. According to officials, the entry point of these agents into hospitals is usually through anaesthesiologists, who introduce them to the hospital.
“The agents are usually in contact with anaesthesiologists, who then refer them to other colleagues when the need for a drug arises. It’s been going on for years. Most are not aware that it could be illegal to buy drugs from them,” said a senior anaesthetist in the city.
Apart from the lack of awareness, getting the necessary licences to stock and sell narcotics is a cumbersome process.
Stocking and selling narcotics under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985, is strictly regulated and requires meeting qualification standards for pharmacists and standards for safe storage and handling of narcotics in the facility. Rather than go through the complex process, most hospitals opt for the easier route – through agents.
“There are also regular inspections of pharmacies that stock them. While most hospitals are not aware that this is illegal, they also rely heavily on the agents because of the ease of doing business. The agents deliver the supplies to the hospital and can do so at any time,” says Reddy, adding that the DCA has launched an awareness campaign for hospitals.
