Substandard, smuggled surgical equipment seized at pharma company’s office

Raid party finds unregistered equipment found at pharmaceutical company’s office

RAWALPINDI:

A district health department team along with members of the Punjab chief minister’s special task force on drugs on Tuesday raided the office of a pharmaceutical company and confiscated a huge quantity of unregistered surgical equipment.

The team raided Intec Corporation in Al-Amin Plaza, Westridge and seized a number of cartons of unregistered stents and other instruments worth Rs30 million.

A case has been registered at the Westridge Police Station against the owner of the company, Irfanul Azeem Arain, under the drug act. He is reportedly overseas at this time.

Adviser to the Punjab Chief Minister Khawaja Salman Rafique said that strict action was being taken against suppliers of unregistered, smuggled or substandard medicines and equipment across the province. He said two task forces had been constituted for this.

Rafique said that the raiding teams had also sealed the store of the corporation in Lahore, while efforts were being made to crack down on a similar racket in Faisalabad.

“No one will be allowed to wreak havoc with public health…strict action will be taken against those involved in supply and smuggling unregistered drugs into the country,” he said.

Rafique said legal action would be taken against owner of the company.

Responding to a question on the sorry condition of the three teaching hospitals in the city, Rafique said that people would see positive changes in hospitals in the next four to five months.

He said Rs3.5 billion had been allocated to upgrade the teaching hospitals, basic health units and tehsil district hospitals.

The stocks seized were reportedly smuggled in from China, France, Belgium, Germany and other countries without paying custom duty.

A drug inspector who was part of the raiding team said the equipment was smuggled in with the connivance of customs officials.

The store was also sealed as it was being run without any licence and was not registered with the Drugs Regulatory Authority.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 3^rd, 2015.