Hyderabad officials told to increase surprise raids, curb spurious drugs

Director General of Telangana Drugs Control Administration (DCA), Shahnawaz Qasim, convened a state conference at the DCA headquarters on Saturday, bringing together enforcement officers from across the state, including Drugs Inspectors, Assistant Directors, and Deputy Directors.

During the meeting, the DG reviewed the department’s ongoing enforcement activities and issued a strong directive to intensify surprise raids and maintain constant vigilance to curb the circulation of spurious drugs in the market. Officers were instructed to dismantle networks involved in the manufacture, distribution, and sale of counterfeit medicines.

The Director General highlighted that habitual offenders must be kept under close watch, and drugs inspectors were urged to seek police assistance when required to carry out effective enforcement operations. He underscored the urgent need to address the abuse of habit-forming drugs, terming it a matter of ‘highest priority’ for the DCA. Inspectors were also instructed to ramp up QR code verifications and surveillance at sales outlets to detect counterfeit drugs and safeguard public health. Surprise inspections will continue as a key enforcement measure.