Devbhoomi Dwarka: Following the increased scrutiny of cough syrup manufacturers across India following the deaths of 20 kids in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan due to toxic cough syrups, authorities have uncovered a new racquet to sell alcohol in ‘dry’ Gujarat.
Bootleggers have been found to distribute illicit alcohol in Gujarat under the guise of ‘herbal cough syrup’, using neighbourhood paan shops as the preferred mode of distribution. Further investigation showed how the raw materials for making this cough syrup were sourced from companies in Ahmedabad and Surendranagar and sent to Punjab for manufacturing.
The finished product was reintroduced as Ayurvedic cough syrup in Gujarat, where these ‘herbal’ syrups were being sold for just Rs.150 a piece. These bottles contained about 12-14% alcohol, attracting youth looking for their high.
Further investigations showed that almost 526 units across the state were involved in this trade, with many outsourcing manufacturing beyond Gujarat to evade authorities.
Police in Devbhoomi Dwarka arrested a distributor named Chirag Thobhani from Ahmedabad, who exposed the illegal sale of the intoxicating syrup across Ahmedabad, Jamnagar, Rajkot, Vadodara, Surat and Kutch districts. After further interrogation, it was revealed that this racket had been run for years, with almost 2 lakh bottles of this intoxicating cough syrup being sold across Gujarat.
According to the police, the accused were capitalising on the poorly enforced regulations in Gujarat, while also using fraudulent GST numbers to enable them to transport the syrups from beyond Gujarat.
