The Excise Enforcement Squad seized 205 ampoules of Buprenorphine injection IP Lupigesic from a person near Madavana here around 2.10 p.m. on Tuesday.
The drugs were seized from Harris, 26, of Panangad. Excise officials said he was arrested from near Vellayakkunneth Road near Madavana junction while he was trying to sell the substance. “He procured the substance from Delhi for a price of about Rs.60 per each 2 ml ampoule.
He would sell it here for about Rs. 700 per ampoule,” said K.K. Anilkumar, Excise Circle Inspector. About 1 ml of the drug, used to treat acute pain, is usually administered to cancer patients by medical professionals in controlled dosages.
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Excise officials said regular users injected many 2 ml ampoules when taking the drug. Harris, a B.Tech. graduate, allegedly used the drugs himself as well.
Mr. Anilkumar said the possession and sale of the drug was a serious offence.
“It is a non-bailable offence and possessing even 10 ampoules can attract a prison sentence of 10 to 20 years,” he said.
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In another drugs bust, Perumbavoor Excise officials seized 27 gm of brown sugar from two persons from near Kaduval.
Mohammad Azad Mandal, 33, and Abdul Hanna Mandal, 42, both from Murshidabad in West Bengal, were arrested with the substance.
Officials said both men had been working in various parts of Kerala doing plywood and tile work for about three years.
They allegedly obtained the substance from their home State and sold it here.