The Enforcement Directorate (ED) raided multiple locations in Punjab and Mumbai on Friday as part of a money laundering investigation linked to “illegal” sale of drugs by private de-addiction centres in Punjab.
The ED raids follow various FIRs filed by the Punjab Police against a doctor, Amit Bansal, a pharmaceutical company, a drugs inspector and some others. Bansal runs 22 drugs de-addiction centres across Punjab. The raids are being conducted in Chandigarh, Ludhiana, Barnala and Mumbai under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
Sources said private de-addiction centres, including the ones run by Bansal, have been entrusted by the Punjab government to provide BNX (Buprenorphine/Naloxone) medicine to patients enrolled in their facilities so that they can be weaned away from narcotics. It was found that these medicines meant for rehabilitation of drug addicts were being taken in “excess” quantity, leading to another kind of drug abuse.
ED officials said Bansal was also involved in the “illegal” sale of such drugs. A drugs inspector called Rupinder Kaur is being interrogated for allegedly assisting Bansal. Pharma company Rusan Pharma Ltd, a manufacturer of BNX, is also under the scanner.
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