Tag: Drugs

  • 100 Youths Detained In Maharashtra`s Thane After Police Raid Drug-Fuelled Rave Party

    A pre-New Year Eve rave party with drugs and liquor was busted by the Thane Police in a private plot on Ghodbunder Road near the Kasarvadavali Police Station on Sunday morning. 

  • Gujarat police seizes 80 kilos of drugs worth Rs 800 crore in Kutch

    Express News Service

    AHMEDABAD: Gujarat Police confiscated 80 kg of heroin worth Rs 800 crore in the international market from the Kutch district’s coastal area on Thursday. According to officials, the police acted immediately after receiving the information. The accused abandoned the drug and fled the scene.

    Gujarat Home Minister Harsh Sanghvi Said on Social Media that “Acting on information from the Kutch East Local Crime Branch (L.C.B.), a dedicated team intervened swiftly, intercepting a group of suspected individuals engaged in illegal drug trafficking on Mithirohar beach. This operation resulted in the successful confiscation of 80 kg of cocaine.”

    #WATCH | Gujarat Home Minister Harsh Sanghavi says “Today Gandhidham police seized 80 kgs of cocaine, which is worth about Rs 800 crore in the international market. I have congratulated the DGP and Gandhidham police for this success…” https://t.co/C4RgnwIjgR pic.twitter.com/gkpJS8KqVJ
    — ANI (@ANI) September 28, 2023
    “Today Gandhidham police seized 80 kgs of cocaine, which is worth about Rs 800 crore in the international market. I have congratulated the DGP and Gandhidham police for this success…,” he added.

    “Gujarat Police has seized 80 kg of drug from the coast, whose international market value is Rs 800 crore,” said Sagar Bagmar, Superintendent of Police, Kutch East.

    “As soon as the information was received, the police jumped into action, and the accused dropped the narcotic and fled the scene. The case is being further investigated,” SP Bagmar remarked.

    #WATCH | Superintendent of Police, Kutch East, Sagar Bagmar says, “…Police recovered a large consignment of drugs, as per the primary investigation by FSL it has been found to be cocaine. A police investigation is underway. During the police investigation, it was found that… https://t.co/C4RgnwIjgR pic.twitter.com/bjd4fO9vzM
    — ANI (@ANI) September 28, 2023
    According to data tabled in the state legislative Assembly in March 2023, “From August 2021 till February 2023, the Gujarat police seized nearly 1,000 kg of drugs worth over ₹ 5,300 crore and nabbed 102 accused persons, including 56 foreign nationals, Of these 56 foreign nationals, 44 were from Pakistan, seven from Iran, three from Afghanistan, and two from Nigeria.”

    AHMEDABAD: Gujarat Police confiscated 80 kg of heroin worth Rs 800 crore in the international market from the Kutch district’s coastal area on Thursday. According to officials, the police acted immediately after receiving the information. The accused abandoned the drug and fled the scene.

    Gujarat Home Minister Harsh Sanghvi Said on Social Media that “Acting on information from the Kutch East Local Crime Branch (L.C.B.), a dedicated team intervened swiftly, intercepting a group of suspected individuals engaged in illegal drug trafficking on Mithirohar beach. This operation resulted in the successful confiscation of 80 kg of cocaine.”

    #WATCH | Gujarat Home Minister Harsh Sanghavi says “Today Gandhidham police seized 80 kgs of cocaine, which is worth about Rs 800 crore in the international market. I have congratulated the DGP and Gandhidham police for this success…” https://t.co/C4RgnwIjgR pic.twitter.com/gkpJS8KqVJgoogletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-8052921-2’); });
    — ANI (@ANI) September 28, 2023
    “Today Gandhidham police seized 80 kgs of cocaine, which is worth about Rs 800 crore in the international market. I have congratulated the DGP and Gandhidham police for this success…,” he added.

    “Gujarat Police has seized 80 kg of drug from the coast, whose international market value is Rs 800 crore,” said Sagar Bagmar, Superintendent of Police, Kutch East.

    “As soon as the information was received, the police jumped into action, and the accused dropped the narcotic and fled the scene. The case is being further investigated,” SP Bagmar remarked.

    #WATCH | Superintendent of Police, Kutch East, Sagar Bagmar says, “…Police recovered a large consignment of drugs, as per the primary investigation by FSL it has been found to be cocaine. A police investigation is underway. During the police investigation, it was found that… https://t.co/C4RgnwIjgR pic.twitter.com/bjd4fO9vzM
    — ANI (@ANI) September 28, 2023
    According to data tabled in the state legislative Assembly in March 2023, “From August 2021 till February 2023, the Gujarat police seized nearly 1,000 kg of drugs worth over ₹ 5,300 crore and nabbed 102 accused persons, including 56 foreign nationals, Of these 56 foreign nationals, 44 were from Pakistan, seven from Iran, three from Afghanistan, and two from Nigeria.”

  • Drugs seized from Indian waters worth Rs 25,000 crore, says NCB

    By PTI

    KOCHI: Two days after the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) had announced the seizure of over 2,500 kilograms of methamphetamine from a vessel in Indian waters in a joint operation with the Navy, the anti-drug agency on Monday said the actual commercial value of the contraband after its latest evaluation was close to Rs 25,000 crore.

    NCB officials said because of the high purity of the seized methamphetamine, the value of the contraband has increased.

    Initially valued at Rs 12 000 crore, NCB had said that it was the largest seizure of methamphetamine in the country. “Upon our inspection, we found that the quality of the seized contraband is very high. Currently, the estimated street value of the drugs are at around Rs 25,000 crore,” a senior official of the NCB told PTI.

    The official said various agencies have come together and they are probing the Pakistan links to the seizure. “The Pakistani national, who was detained will be produced before the court here this evening and we will seek his custody,” the official said.

    The officials said the product was packed in such a professional manner that even if it was aboard a ship for a longer duration, the moisture will not affect the drugs. “The plastic boxes have various signages or emblems on top of it and we suspect that multiple drug manufacturing labs were involved in it,” the official said.

    Giving details of the seizure at a press conference held here on Saturday, NCB Deputy Director General (Ops) Sanjay Kumar Singh had said that it was carried out as part of ‘Operation Samudragupt’ which targeted maritime trafficking of drugs originating from Afghanistan.

    This is the third major seizure by NCB of maritime trafficking of drugs through the southern route in the last one and a half years, the agency had said adding that as part of the operation, so far around 3,200 kg of methamphetamine, 500 kg of heroin and 529 kg of hashish have been seized.

    The agency claimed that the latest consignment of over 2,500 kg of methamphetamine was meant for India, Sri Lanka and Maldives from Afghanistan.

    The drug cache had started on a “mother ship” — a large vessel that distributes narcotics to various boats during its journey — from the Makran coast around Pakistan and Iran, it said.

    As many as 134 sacks of suspected methamphetamine, the intercepted boat and some other items salvaged from the ship along with the Pakistani national were brought to Mattancherry Wharf and handed over by the Navy to the NCB, it said.

    KOCHI: Two days after the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) had announced the seizure of over 2,500 kilograms of methamphetamine from a vessel in Indian waters in a joint operation with the Navy, the anti-drug agency on Monday said the actual commercial value of the contraband after its latest evaluation was close to Rs 25,000 crore.

    NCB officials said because of the high purity of the seized methamphetamine, the value of the contraband has increased.

    Initially valued at Rs 12 000 crore, NCB had said that it was the largest seizure of methamphetamine in the country. “Upon our inspection, we found that the quality of the seized contraband is very high. Currently, the estimated street value of the drugs are at around Rs 25,000 crore,” a senior official of the NCB told PTI.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-8052921-2’); });

    The official said various agencies have come together and they are probing the Pakistan links to the seizure. “The Pakistani national, who was detained will be produced before the court here this evening and we will seek his custody,” the official said.

    The officials said the product was packed in such a professional manner that even if it was aboard a ship for a longer duration, the moisture will not affect the drugs. “The plastic boxes have various signages or emblems on top of it and we suspect that multiple drug manufacturing labs were involved in it,” the official said.

    Giving details of the seizure at a press conference held here on Saturday, NCB Deputy Director General (Ops) Sanjay Kumar Singh had said that it was carried out as part of ‘Operation Samudragupt’ which targeted maritime trafficking of drugs originating from Afghanistan.

    This is the third major seizure by NCB of maritime trafficking of drugs through the southern route in the last one and a half years, the agency had said adding that as part of the operation, so far around 3,200 kg of methamphetamine, 500 kg of heroin and 529 kg of hashish have been seized.

    The agency claimed that the latest consignment of over 2,500 kg of methamphetamine was meant for India, Sri Lanka and Maldives from Afghanistan.

    The drug cache had started on a “mother ship” — a large vessel that distributes narcotics to various boats during its journey — from the Makran coast around Pakistan and Iran, it said.

    As many as 134 sacks of suspected methamphetamine, the intercepted boat and some other items salvaged from the ship along with the Pakistani national were brought to Mattancherry Wharf and handed over by the Navy to the NCB, it said.

  • Assam: Guards reject bribe, seize party drug worth Rs 40 crore

    By Express News Service

    GUWAHATI:  Two Assam Home Guards spurned an offer of Rs 20 lakh from a smuggler and seized over 7.59 lakh contraband Yaba tablets worth Rs 40 crore in the international market. This is said to be the biggest ever seizure of Yaba tablets in the state. The recovery was made in Karimganj district of the Barak Valley in the wee hours of Tuesday. 

    The consignment was being smuggled in a car. The police arrested the driver, Hafij Uddin (36). He is a resident of Sombaribazar of Badarpur in the district. Additional Superintendent of Police Partha Pratim Das told journalists that the seizure was made by Home Guards Anupam Malakar and Jashim Uddin. “Altogether 7,59,200 Yaba tablets were seized. We have never heard of a seizure of such a huge quantity of Yaba tablets in one operation,” Das said.

    According to the Karimganj Police, Malakar and Jashim Uddin would be suitably rewarded along with two Village Defence Party (VDP) members, Amiyo Paul and Dipankar Paul, who assisted during the seizure of the contraband. Jashim Uddin said he and Malakar were on a night patrol duty when they saw a vehicle approaching them.

    “We signalled it to stop but it sped away. We chased it and saw it left abandoned. We then contacted the two VDP members. The driver reached me by contacting one of the VDP members over the phone. He asked us to release the car along with the consignment and offered Rs 20 lakh for it. But I said I cannot talk over the phone and asked him to come to the spot. When he came, we arrested him,” Jashim Uddin told the media.

    The Karimganj Police said it was praiseworthy that the two home guards performed their duty diligently and ignored the smuggler’s offer. The police said all those involved in the smuggling of the contraband, including the other occupants of the car who managed to flee, would be arrested.

    An investigation into the case under Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act is underway, Das added. The operation has drawn praise from Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma. “Patrolling team was offered Rs 20 lakhs by driver to release the vehicle, which it rejected, displaying great honesty and dedication to service. The team will be rewarded by Assam government for its loyalty (sic),” Sarma tweeted.

    GUWAHATI:  Two Assam Home Guards spurned an offer of Rs 20 lakh from a smuggler and seized over 7.59 lakh contraband Yaba tablets worth Rs 40 crore in the international market. This is said to be the biggest ever seizure of Yaba tablets in the state. The recovery was made in Karimganj district of the Barak Valley in the wee hours of Tuesday. 

    The consignment was being smuggled in a car. The police arrested the driver, Hafij Uddin (36). He is a resident of Sombaribazar of Badarpur in the district. Additional Superintendent of Police Partha Pratim Das told journalists that the seizure was made by Home Guards Anupam Malakar and Jashim Uddin. “Altogether 7,59,200 Yaba tablets were seized. We have never heard of a seizure of such a huge quantity of Yaba tablets in one operation,” Das said.

    According to the Karimganj Police, Malakar and Jashim Uddin would be suitably rewarded along with two Village Defence Party (VDP) members, Amiyo Paul and Dipankar Paul, who assisted during the seizure of the contraband. Jashim Uddin said he and Malakar were on a night patrol duty when they saw a vehicle approaching them.

    “We signalled it to stop but it sped away. We chased it and saw it left abandoned. We then contacted the two VDP members. The driver reached me by contacting one of the VDP members over the phone. He asked us to release the car along with the consignment and offered Rs 20 lakh for it. But I said I cannot talk over the phone and asked him to come to the spot. When he came, we arrested him,” Jashim Uddin told the media.

    The Karimganj Police said it was praiseworthy that the two home guards performed their duty diligently and ignored the smuggler’s offer. The police said all those involved in the smuggling of the contraband, including the other occupants of the car who managed to flee, would be arrested.

    An investigation into the case under Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act is underway, Das added. The operation has drawn praise from Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma. “Patrolling team was offered Rs 20 lakhs by driver to release the vehicle, which it rejected, displaying great honesty and dedication to service. The team will be rewarded by Assam government for its loyalty (sic),” Sarma tweeted.

  • ‘Drugs made in Punjab labs, sent to Chandigarh clubs’

    Express News Service

    CHANDIGARH:  This drug ring spread its tentacles from Dubai, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. In India, the racket carried the stuff to Ludhiana in Punjab, via J&K, where it was processed in ‘labs’ owned by two Afghan nationals staying on medical visas. The real surprise for sleuths came when aides were found supplying drugs to nightclubs and restaurants in Chandigarh.

    The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) said on Monday it has arrested 16 suspects in the last few days after busting an international drug syndicate. NCB sources said the suspects were linked to groups in Delhi’s Shaheen Bagh and UP’s Muzaffarnagar. NCB deputy director general (northern region) Gyaneshwar Singh said the suspects were found with over 34 kg heroin, 5 kg morphine, 23.645 kg suspected narcotics powder, opium besides other substances and ammunition.

    The NCB said the drug ring had links to a previous case in Shaheen Bagh and UP towns from where over 150kg of drugs were recovered by Gujarat’s Anti-Terrorism Squad and Delhi Police. “This group exploited legal channels to smuggle drugs. Investigation showed that some importers gave them cover by giving them legal papers,’’ Singh said.

    CHANDIGARH:  This drug ring spread its tentacles from Dubai, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. In India, the racket carried the stuff to Ludhiana in Punjab, via J&K, where it was processed in ‘labs’ owned by two Afghan nationals staying on medical visas. The real surprise for sleuths came when aides were found supplying drugs to nightclubs and restaurants in Chandigarh.

    The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) said on Monday it has arrested 16 suspects in the last few days after busting an international drug syndicate. NCB sources said the suspects were linked to groups in Delhi’s Shaheen Bagh and UP’s Muzaffarnagar. NCB deputy director general (northern region) Gyaneshwar Singh said the suspects were found with over 34 kg heroin, 5 kg morphine, 23.645 kg suspected narcotics powder, opium besides other substances and ammunition.

    The NCB said the drug ring had links to a previous case in Shaheen Bagh and UP towns from where over 150kg of drugs were recovered by Gujarat’s Anti-Terrorism Squad and Delhi Police. “This group exploited legal channels to smuggle drugs. Investigation showed that some importers gave them cover by giving them legal papers,’’ Singh said.

  • ‘Tell us how many drug mafias you caught through Pegasus’: Congress MP asks Shah

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday took exception to Congress member Gaurav Gogoi’s allegation that government snoops on politicians with Israeli spyware Pegasus and asked him to give proof of the claim, saying the house was not meant for “reckless politics.”

    Congress member Gaurav Gogoi, while participating in a discussion in Lok Sabha on drug menace on Wednesday, sought to know from the government about the kind of surveillance mechanism it has in place on the country’s land and sea borders, as well as international airports, to check the entry of contraband into the country.

    The Congress member also sought to know from the Home Minister as to what kind of surveillance and intelligence mechanisms are in place to check the arms smuggling, human trafficking, and smuggling of animal parts at the India-Myanmar border.

    ‘”You snoop on us again and again, install Pegasus on our phones and that of the journalists,” Gogoi charged. “You tell us how many drug mafias you have caught through Pegasus so far,” Gogoi asked Shah.

    Objecting to the Congress member’s remarks, Shah asked Gogoi to submit in the house the proof of his accusation. “He has levelled a very serious allegation that Pegasus has been installed in his mobile. He must submit here the basis (of his accusation) in the House. Either his words are removed or he must submit the basis,” Shah said.

    “The House is for serious discussion, not for reckless politics,” he added.

    ALSO READ | No proof that Pegasus spyware used in phones examined: SC; says Centre didn’t cooperate in probe

    Gogoi urged Speaker Om Birla to issue an order if he made any mistake in asking the government to tell the House if it uses Pegasus for surveillance or not.

    “He has said (Pegasus was) used on him. He must submit facts. He can’t just talk like this. Rest the Supreme Court has decided,” Shah said referring to the apex court’s decision on the Pegasus spyware matter.

    “What can we do if you also do not read like your leader,” he also said, hitting out at Gogoi over his remarks Intervening, the Speaker told the members that it will enhance the dignity of the House if they make their points with facts and proof.

    “This is my request,” he added.

    READ HERE | Govt had something to hide, says Rahul Gandhi on Centre’s non-cooperation in Pegasus probe

    NEW DELHI: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday took exception to Congress member Gaurav Gogoi’s allegation that government snoops on politicians with Israeli spyware Pegasus and asked him to give proof of the claim, saying the house was not meant for “reckless politics.”

    Congress member Gaurav Gogoi, while participating in a discussion in Lok Sabha on drug menace on Wednesday, sought to know from the government about the kind of surveillance mechanism it has in place on the country’s land and sea borders, as well as international airports, to check the entry of contraband into the country.

    The Congress member also sought to know from the Home Minister as to what kind of surveillance and intelligence mechanisms are in place to check the arms smuggling, human trafficking, and smuggling of animal parts at the India-Myanmar border.

    ‘”You snoop on us again and again, install Pegasus on our phones and that of the journalists,” Gogoi charged. “You tell us how many drug mafias you have caught through Pegasus so far,” Gogoi asked Shah.

    Objecting to the Congress member’s remarks, Shah asked Gogoi to submit in the house the proof of his accusation. “He has levelled a very serious allegation that Pegasus has been installed in his mobile. He must submit here the basis (of his accusation) in the House. Either his words are removed or he must submit the basis,” Shah said.

    “The House is for serious discussion, not for reckless politics,” he added.

    ALSO READ | No proof that Pegasus spyware used in phones examined: SC; says Centre didn’t cooperate in probe

    Gogoi urged Speaker Om Birla to issue an order if he made any mistake in asking the government to tell the House if it uses Pegasus for surveillance or not.

    “He has said (Pegasus was) used on him. He must submit facts. He can’t just talk like this. Rest the Supreme Court has decided,” Shah said referring to the apex court’s decision on the Pegasus spyware matter.

    “What can we do if you also do not read like your leader,” he also said, hitting out at Gogoi over his remarks Intervening, the Speaker told the members that it will enhance the dignity of the House if they make their points with facts and proof.

    “This is my request,” he added.

    READ HERE | Govt had something to hide, says Rahul Gandhi on Centre’s non-cooperation in Pegasus probe

  • NIA footprint in all states by 2024

    By Express News Service

    FARIDABAD:  In what could have far-reaching consequences, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) will open branches across all states by 2024 besides getting “extra-territorial rights”, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said here on Thursday.

    Inaugurating a twoday Chintan Shivir of home ministers on internal security, Shah said his ministry was in the process of amending the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) and the Indian Penal Code (IPC). The drafts will soon be placed in Parliament.

    Although Shah did not elaborate on the extra-territorial rights to the NIA, ministry sources said it will give the agency the power to investigate all types of cases across many domain areas within India. While the NIA, which was formed in 2008, at present has four hubs in as many metropolitan cities, the move to establish branches in all states will likely be opposed by non-BJPruled state governments.

    The expansion in the NIA’s powers, Shah said, also involves granting it the authority to confiscate a terrorist’s property. The last time it was granted enhanced powers was in 2019 when the NIA Act gave it the power to investigate the schedule of fences committed outside India, though subject to international treaties and domestic laws of other countries.

    Under the Act, the Centre could direct the organisation to investigate such cases as if the offence has been committed in India. Besides, NIA officers have “all the powers, duties, privileges and liabilities which police officers have in connection with an investigation of offences”. Shah said his ministry intends to set targets for divisions handling cybercrime, drugs, internal security and border management for 2047.

    Nixing FCRA Claiming theFCRA licence of some NGOs was nixed since they were involved in religious conversions, Shah said they were “raising funds from foreign sources with impunity”

    FARIDABAD:  In what could have far-reaching consequences, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) will open branches across all states by 2024 besides getting “extra-territorial rights”, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said here on Thursday.

    Inaugurating a twoday Chintan Shivir of home ministers on internal security, Shah said his ministry was in the process of amending the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) and the Indian Penal Code (IPC). The drafts will soon be placed in Parliament.

    Although Shah did not elaborate on the extra-territorial rights to the NIA, ministry sources said it will give the agency the power to investigate all types of cases across many domain areas within India. While the NIA, which was formed in 2008, at present has four hubs in as many metropolitan cities, the move to establish branches in all states will likely be opposed by non-BJPruled state governments.

    The expansion in the NIA’s powers, Shah said, also involves granting it the authority to confiscate a terrorist’s property. The last time it was granted enhanced powers was in 2019 when the NIA Act gave it the power to investigate the schedule of fences committed outside India, though subject to international treaties and domestic laws of other countries.

    Under the Act, the Centre could direct the organisation to investigate such cases as if the offence has been committed in India. Besides, NIA officers have “all the powers, duties, privileges and liabilities which police officers have in connection with an investigation of offences”. Shah said his ministry intends to set targets for divisions handling cybercrime, drugs, internal security and border management for 2047.

    Nixing FCRA Claiming the
    FCRA licence of some NGOs was nixed since they were involved in religious conversions, Shah said they were “raising funds from foreign sources with impunity”

  • Anti-cancer, anti-infectives among list of 384 essential medicines; 34 drugs added, 26 dropped

    Express News Service

    NEW DELHI: The central government has made medicines for cancer, cardiovascular diseases and other critical ailments more affordable by expanding the National List of Essential Medicines (NLEM) by adding 34 new drugs.

    After the revision, 384 drugs for 27 therapeutic categories are now on the list of essential medicines.

    At the same time, the popular antacid Ranitidine has been taken off the list because of concerns that it causes cancer. The other 25 drugs like Sucralfate, Atenolol and Methyldopa have also been removed as cost-effective and better options for these medicines are now available. 

    NLEM, also known as scheduled drugs, was last revised in 2015. It includes medicines that treat prevalent diseases such as fever, infections, heart diseases, hypertension, kidney dysfunction, tuberculosis, diabetes, skin diseases and blood disorders, and cancer. 

    The other 34 drugs included in the list are anti-tuberculosis medicine Bedaquiline, Rotavirus vaccine, antibiotic Amikacin, anti-filariasis drug Ivermicitin, hormone insulin Glargine used by diabetic patients, anti-asthma drug Montelukast, cardiovascular medicines Dabigatran and Tenecetplace and anti-infectives like ivermectin and mupirocin. The list also includes Nicotine Replacement Therapy.

    However, the Covid vaccines have not been included in the list as the data of such medicines is still not conclusive from the regulatory perspective. But, the list includes medicines like Dexamethasone, Enoxaparin, Methylprednisolone, Paracetamol and also oxygen for Covid management.

    “The National List of Essential Medicines (NLEM) plays an important role in ensuring accessibility of affordable quality medicines at all levels of healthcare. This will boost cost-effective, quality medicines and contribute towards a reduction in out of pocket expenditure on healthcare for the citizens,” said Union Health Minister Dr Mansukh Mandaviya while releasing the revised NLEM list on Tuesday.

    “Essential medicines” satisfy the priority health care needs based on efficacy, safety, quality and total cost of the treatment, he said, adding that it will also help improve the quality of health care, provide cost-effective health care and better management of medicines.

    He said the National Pharma Pricing Authority (NPPA) will set its ceiling price, and based on this, and it is decided no company increases cost (of essential medicines) on its own.”

    According to Dr Y K Gupta, the vice chairman of the Standing National Committee on Medicines (SNCM), constituted by the health ministry in 2018 to revise the list, four drugs that are still under patent have been included in the list are Bedaquiline and Delaminated used in the treatment of multiple drug-resistant tuberculosis, Doulutegravir used to treat human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection, and Daclatasvir used in treating viral infections such as Hepatitis C.

    The committee also highlighted the increasing and constant need to educate healthcare professionals and doctors against using several fixed-dose combinations (FDCs) of antibiotics. Although many antibiotic FDCs with multiple antibiotics, analgesics, vitamins, minerals, etc., have been banned, still many combinations are in the market with doubtful rationality, Gupta said.

    NEW DELHI: The central government has made medicines for cancer, cardiovascular diseases and other critical ailments more affordable by expanding the National List of Essential Medicines (NLEM) by adding 34 new drugs.

    After the revision, 384 drugs for 27 therapeutic categories are now on the list of essential medicines.

    At the same time, the popular antacid Ranitidine has been taken off the list because of concerns that it causes cancer. The other 25 drugs like Sucralfate, Atenolol and Methyldopa have also been removed as cost-effective and better options for these medicines are now available. 

    NLEM, also known as scheduled drugs, was last revised in 2015. It includes medicines that treat prevalent diseases such as fever, infections, heart diseases, hypertension, kidney dysfunction, tuberculosis, diabetes, skin diseases and blood disorders, and cancer. 

    The other 34 drugs included in the list are anti-tuberculosis medicine Bedaquiline, Rotavirus vaccine, antibiotic Amikacin, anti-filariasis drug Ivermicitin, hormone insulin Glargine used by diabetic patients, anti-asthma drug Montelukast, cardiovascular medicines Dabigatran and Tenecetplace and anti-infectives like ivermectin and mupirocin. The list also includes Nicotine Replacement Therapy.

    However, the Covid vaccines have not been included in the list as the data of such medicines is still not conclusive from the regulatory perspective. But, the list includes medicines like Dexamethasone, Enoxaparin, Methylprednisolone, Paracetamol and also oxygen for Covid management.

    “The National List of Essential Medicines (NLEM) plays an important role in ensuring accessibility of affordable quality medicines at all levels of healthcare. This will boost cost-effective, quality medicines and contribute towards a reduction in out of pocket expenditure on healthcare for the citizens,” said Union Health Minister Dr Mansukh Mandaviya while releasing the revised NLEM list on Tuesday.

    “Essential medicines” satisfy the priority health care needs based on efficacy, safety, quality and total cost of the treatment, he said, adding that it will also help improve the quality of health care, provide cost-effective health care and better management of medicines.

    He said the National Pharma Pricing Authority (NPPA) will set its ceiling price, and based on this, and it is decided no company increases cost (of essential medicines) on its own.”

    According to Dr Y K Gupta, the vice chairman of the Standing National Committee on Medicines (SNCM), constituted by the health ministry in 2018 to revise the list, four drugs that are still under patent have been included in the list are Bedaquiline and Delaminated used in the treatment of multiple drug-resistant tuberculosis, Doulutegravir used to treat human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection, and Daclatasvir used in treating viral infections such as Hepatitis C.

    The committee also highlighted the increasing and constant need to educate healthcare professionals and doctors against using several fixed-dose combinations (FDCs) of antibiotics. Although many antibiotic FDCs with multiple antibiotics, analgesics, vitamins, minerals, etc., have been banned, still many combinations are in the market with doubtful rationality, Gupta said.

  • Michael Jackson used 19 fake IDs to score drugs, reveals new documentary

    By IANS

    LOS ANGELES: King of pop Michael Jackson, who died in June 2009, used up to 19 fake IDs to buy drugs, reveals a new documentary.

    The 50-year-old was found unresponsive in his Los Angeles home after suffering cardiac arrest brought on by the anesthetic propofol – a drug reportedly routinely administered by Jackson’s physician, Conrad Murray.

    The death was ruled a homicide, and Murray took all the blame. He was convicted of involuntary manslaughter and was sentenced to four years in prison, serving just under two behind bars, reports nypost.com.

    But Murray endured the brunt of public hatred even though Jackson, who would have turned 64 on Monday, was abusing drugs throughout much of his life in alarming doses and was allegedly easily enabled to do so by an array of other doctors – ones who never saw a day in jail after the King of Pop’s death, according to a new documentary ‘TMZ Investigates: Who Really Killed Michael Jackson’ due out on Fox next month.

    “It’s a lot more complicated than just: Dr. Murray was at his bedside when he died,” Orlando Martinez, the LAPD detective assigned to Jackson’s death, says in the documentary.

    “Circumstances had been leading up to his death for years, and all of these different medical professionals had allowed Michael to dictate his own terms, get the medicines he wanted, when he wanted them, where he wanted them,” Martinez maintains.

    “All of them are the reason why he’s dead today.”

    Jackson had been taking the propofol in ‘Gatorade’-size bottles at the time of his death, according to Ed Winter, the assistant chief coroner for LA County.

    The medical community, in many ways, facilitated his obsession with the substance, according to Murray, who adds that propofol “was the only way he could go to sleep, especially when he was getting ready for a tour.”

    “It was not a big deal – he had been using it for decades, different doctors had given it to him from all around the world… and they allowed him to sometimes inject the medicine,” Murray, who routinely administered it to Jackson, says. “He was able to push the propofol himself, and the doctors allowed him to do it, and that was OK.”

    On top of the makeshift sleep medicine – one that addiction specialist Dr. Drew Pinsky explicitly says is neither a medication that should be used to treat insomnia nor one that is routinely stored outside of medical facilities – Jackson was also hooked on other drugs throughout his career, according to the documentary.

    It all began in 1984 when he suffered both second and third-degree burns to his scalp during a pyrotechnic disaster while filming a Pepsi commercial and was given painkillers to recuperate.

    In Jackson’s own words, drugs had taken over his life in the years that followed.

    “I became increasingly more dependent on the painkillers to get me through the days of my tour,” Jackson says in archived audio, explaining why he cancelled the latter part of his 1993 ‘Dangerous’ world tour and announced that he was going into treatment.

    All that time on the road was misery for the star act. In archived footage, Jackson confesses: “I don’t like it… I go through hell touring.”

    Things had only gotten worse in the years to follow as Jackson fostered a relationship with famed Hollywood dermatologist Arnold Klein, who died of natural causes at age 70 in 2015. Klein admitted to dishing out the opioid Demerol along with more substances to the superstar.

    TMZ Executive Producer Harvey Levin says it was “routine” for MJ to go get high on Demerol “for hours at a time” at Klein’s office.

    “Dr Klein was more than happy to oblige and he justified with minor procedures,” Levin says. “And he did this over and over and over again.”

    Jackson was taking Demerol at a whopping 300 milligrams at a time, according to Pinsky. The pop singer even mentions the substance in his 1997 track “Morphine.”

    Debbie Rowe, Jackson’s ex-wife who worked for Klein as an assistant for years, spoke only about the doctor and not of her late ex-husband. She says that Klein was known for doing unethical things to woo the Hollywood elite in his office.

    “There were times he would write prescriptions for things that had nothing to do with what we were treating them for,” Rowe says in the doc. “He would write prescriptions that were not conducive to what a dermatologist would normally write a prescription for.”

    She added that Klein was “a person that you want to hang with because you’re going to be able to get something in return.”

    It was also revealed that as Jackson and Klein’s relationship turned into more of a friendship rather than that of doctor and patient, the dermatologist allegedly kept fraudulent documents on the singer.

    Jackson had created 19 false aliases to collect different drugs, and Klein had kept a special book noting which prescriptions went to each fake identity, according to Winter.

    “The way that Michael went about getting all these drugs was doctor shopping. He had multiple, different doctors that he was involved with and he would go to ‘Doctor A’ and ask for a sedative, and then he would go to ‘Doctor B’ and may ask for the same one,” Jackson’s plastic surgeon, Dr. Harry Glassman, claims.

    “Michael is responsible, to a great extent, for his own demise, but he certainly had a lot of help from the medical community.”

    Murray, who admits to having deeply cared for Jackson, says none of that information had ever been shared with him.

    “He made it look as though I was his sole physician… If I had known that Michael was going to a dermatologist’s office or any doctor and being shot up or dripped up with opioids on a daily basis, there would be a two-step dance. One, he has a problem; two, I’ll take you to where you need to be treated – and if you fail to do that, I am out,” Murray says.

    Things reached a boiling point in 2009 when Jackson was readying for his “This Is It” tour as his behaviour became a noticeable worry for director Kenny Ortega.

    “There are strong signs of paranoia, anxiety and obsessive-like behaviour. I think the very best thing we can do is get a top psychiatrist in, to evaluate him ASAP. There’s no one taking responsibility. Caring for him, on a daily basis,” Ortega wrote in an email of concern during rehearsals.

    “Today I was feeding him, wrapping him in blankets and calling his doctor,” he added.

    Jackson had also been rehearsing for the tour that took so much out of him up to the day before his death on June 25 – one more factor in his own demise.

    “Michael Jackson was a drug addict and he was a master at manipulation because I was manipulated by Michael,” Murray says. “I did not enable him at any time in his addiction.

    Even Martinez admits that Murray has unfairly suffered for consequences that were not necessarily his whole doing.

    “We knew that there were multiple doctors doing what Dr. Murray had done and that they had done it over the course of years,” Martinez says. “We decided to concentrate on that night for the criminal side of it. So that negated all of the other history with the other doctors.”

    “There are a lot of folks to blame who have never had a reckoning for his death.”

    LOS ANGELES: King of pop Michael Jackson, who died in June 2009, used up to 19 fake IDs to buy drugs, reveals a new documentary.

    The 50-year-old was found unresponsive in his Los Angeles home after suffering cardiac arrest brought on by the anesthetic propofol – a drug reportedly routinely administered by Jackson’s physician, Conrad Murray.

    The death was ruled a homicide, and Murray took all the blame. He was convicted of involuntary manslaughter and was sentenced to four years in prison, serving just under two behind bars, reports nypost.com.

    But Murray endured the brunt of public hatred even though Jackson, who would have turned 64 on Monday, was abusing drugs throughout much of his life in alarming doses and was allegedly easily enabled to do so by an array of other doctors – ones who never saw a day in jail after the King of Pop’s death, according to a new documentary ‘TMZ Investigates: Who Really Killed Michael Jackson’ due out on Fox next month.

    “It’s a lot more complicated than just: Dr. Murray was at his bedside when he died,” Orlando Martinez, the LAPD detective assigned to Jackson’s death, says in the documentary.

    “Circumstances had been leading up to his death for years, and all of these different medical professionals had allowed Michael to dictate his own terms, get the medicines he wanted, when he wanted them, where he wanted them,” Martinez maintains.

    “All of them are the reason why he’s dead today.”

    Jackson had been taking the propofol in ‘Gatorade’-size bottles at the time of his death, according to Ed Winter, the assistant chief coroner for LA County.

    The medical community, in many ways, facilitated his obsession with the substance, according to Murray, who adds that propofol “was the only way he could go to sleep, especially when he was getting ready for a tour.”

    “It was not a big deal – he had been using it for decades, different doctors had given it to him from all around the world… and they allowed him to sometimes inject the medicine,” Murray, who routinely administered it to Jackson, says. “He was able to push the propofol himself, and the doctors allowed him to do it, and that was OK.”

    On top of the makeshift sleep medicine – one that addiction specialist Dr. Drew Pinsky explicitly says is neither a medication that should be used to treat insomnia nor one that is routinely stored outside of medical facilities – Jackson was also hooked on other drugs throughout his career, according to the documentary.

    It all began in 1984 when he suffered both second and third-degree burns to his scalp during a pyrotechnic disaster while filming a Pepsi commercial and was given painkillers to recuperate.

    In Jackson’s own words, drugs had taken over his life in the years that followed.

    “I became increasingly more dependent on the painkillers to get me through the days of my tour,” Jackson says in archived audio, explaining why he cancelled the latter part of his 1993 ‘Dangerous’ world tour and announced that he was going into treatment.

    All that time on the road was misery for the star act. In archived footage, Jackson confesses: “I don’t like it… I go through hell touring.”

    Things had only gotten worse in the years to follow as Jackson fostered a relationship with famed Hollywood dermatologist Arnold Klein, who died of natural causes at age 70 in 2015. Klein admitted to dishing out the opioid Demerol along with more substances to the superstar.

    TMZ Executive Producer Harvey Levin says it was “routine” for MJ to go get high on Demerol “for hours at a time” at Klein’s office.

    “Dr Klein was more than happy to oblige and he justified with minor procedures,” Levin says. “And he did this over and over and over again.”

    Jackson was taking Demerol at a whopping 300 milligrams at a time, according to Pinsky. The pop singer even mentions the substance in his 1997 track “Morphine.”

    Debbie Rowe, Jackson’s ex-wife who worked for Klein as an assistant for years, spoke only about the doctor and not of her late ex-husband. She says that Klein was known for doing unethical things to woo the Hollywood elite in his office.

    “There were times he would write prescriptions for things that had nothing to do with what we were treating them for,” Rowe says in the doc. “He would write prescriptions that were not conducive to what a dermatologist would normally write a prescription for.”

    She added that Klein was “a person that you want to hang with because you’re going to be able to get something in return.”

    It was also revealed that as Jackson and Klein’s relationship turned into more of a friendship rather than that of doctor and patient, the dermatologist allegedly kept fraudulent documents on the singer.

    Jackson had created 19 false aliases to collect different drugs, and Klein had kept a special book noting which prescriptions went to each fake identity, according to Winter.

    “The way that Michael went about getting all these drugs was doctor shopping. He had multiple, different doctors that he was involved with and he would go to ‘Doctor A’ and ask for a sedative, and then he would go to ‘Doctor B’ and may ask for the same one,” Jackson’s plastic surgeon, Dr. Harry Glassman, claims.

    “Michael is responsible, to a great extent, for his own demise, but he certainly had a lot of help from the medical community.”

    Murray, who admits to having deeply cared for Jackson, says none of that information had ever been shared with him.

    “He made it look as though I was his sole physician… If I had known that Michael was going to a dermatologist’s office or any doctor and being shot up or dripped up with opioids on a daily basis, there would be a two-step dance. One, he has a problem; two, I’ll take you to where you need to be treated – and if you fail to do that, I am out,” Murray says.

    Things reached a boiling point in 2009 when Jackson was readying for his “This Is It” tour as his behaviour became a noticeable worry for director Kenny Ortega.

    “There are strong signs of paranoia, anxiety and obsessive-like behaviour. I think the very best thing we can do is get a top psychiatrist in, to evaluate him ASAP. There’s no one taking responsibility. Caring for him, on a daily basis,” Ortega wrote in an email of concern during rehearsals.

    “Today I was feeding him, wrapping him in blankets and calling his doctor,” he added.

    Jackson had also been rehearsing for the tour that took so much out of him up to the day before his death on June 25 – one more factor in his own demise.

    “Michael Jackson was a drug addict and he was a master at manipulation because I was manipulated by Michael,” Murray says. “I did not enable him at any time in his addiction.

    Even Martinez admits that Murray has unfairly suffered for consequences that were not necessarily his whole doing.

    “We knew that there were multiple doctors doing what Dr. Murray had done and that they had done it over the course of years,” Martinez says. “We decided to concentrate on that night for the criminal side of it. So that negated all of the other history with the other doctors.”

    “There are a lot of folks to blame who have never had a reckoning for his death.”

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    Deputy Superintendent of Police Jivba Dalvi said leftovers from the drugs which were given to her at Curlies Restaurant at Anjuna have been seized from the restaurant's washroom.