Ephedrine case: Another accused turns approver

The alleged front men are charged with procuring 9,000kg of ephedrine for Berlix and Danas.

RAWALPINDI:

Another accused in the ephedrine case has turned approver on Tuesday.

According to the Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF), Anjum Shah was the front man of former MNA Makhdoom Shahabuddin and has now become an approver.

Shah was arrested immediately after his return from Dubai and handed over to police on judicial remand.

He was produced in the Control of Narcotics Substances (CNS) Court of Judge Arshad Tabbassum on Tuesday, where he also recorded his statement.



He said he had family ties with Shahabuddin. He told the court that Danas Pharmaceutical Chief Executive Ansar Farooq Chaudhry and Director Col (retd) Tahirul Wadood Lahoti gave him Rs3.5 million cash and a cheque for Rs2.5 million for 25 kilograms of the chemical, which he handed over to the then-health minister.

The alleged front men — Shah and Tauqir Ali Khan — are charged with procuring 9,000kg of ephedrine for Berlix and Danas.

The challan comprised of over 4,000 documents and included the names of 52 witnesses and the statements of 125 people.

According to the findings of the ANF, former Health director general Dr Rasheed Juma illegally allowed the allocation of the chemical. Another former Health director general, Asad Hafeez, and former Health secretary Khushnood Lashari also allowed the allocation and sale of the chemical to the companies.

The challan said Shah and Khan were frequent visitors at the Health secretary’s office and were behind all the alleged illegal dealings.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 29^th, 2013.