Three arrested in Triplicane after police seize 55280 prescription drug tablets

Three men were arrested on Tuesday after police unearthed an illegal network involved in procuring and stockpiling prescription pain-relief and sedative tablets for smuggling to foreign countries on Pachaiyappan Street in Triplicane, Chennai. The joint operation, conducted by the Anti-Narcotics Intelligence Unit (ANIU) and the Triplicane police, led to the seizure of 55,280 restricted tablets and the remand of the three accused into judicial custody.

The arrested individuals have been identified as 50-year-old Syed Abu Dahir of Vyasarpadi, 44-year-old Mohamed Rathees of Chepauk, and 31-year-old Mujahideen of Triplicane.

According to the police, the network operated by couriering the restricted prescription tablets from Delhi to Chennai. Once the shipments arrived in Chennai, the accused prepared the drugs for illicit shipment to foreign countries by hiding them inside concealed consignments.

The breakthrough in the case came after ANIU officers monitored the movements of Syed Abu Dahir, a suspect from Vyasarpadi, for nearly a month. During this period of surveillance, intelligence officers learned that a private courier company had delivered a parcel containing a large quantity of the restricted tablets to a receiver in Triplicane.

Acting on this specific information, ANIU officers and the Triplicane police intercepted and searched the three men on Pachaiyappan Street on Tuesday. Upon searching them, officers found the men in possession of the restricted pain-relief and sedative tablets.

Police seized a total of 55,280 tablets and registered a case against the three men. Subsequent investigations revealed that Mujahideen played a key role in arranging the transport of the tablets to international destinations. Police stated that Mujahideen operated under the cover of a textile business, which he used to conceal the drug tablets within clothing consignments destined for overseas pharmacies.

Following the seizure and their arrest, all three accused were remanded in judicial custody as police continue their investigation into the transit network.