TGANB plans crackdown on illegal drug units in Hyderabad
Telangana Anti-Narcotics Bureau and Hyderabad Police have planned a coordinated crackdown on illegal drug manufacturing units operating from closed factories and warehouses. Joint inspections and intelligence sharing will be carried out to curb synthetic narcotics production and dismantle supply chains
Hyderabad: With illegal drug manufacturing units repeatedly surfacing in pharma industrial areas in the city and suburbs, officials of the Telangana Anti-Narcotics Bureau (TGANB) are planning to initiate a coordinated crackdown to dismantle operations functioning from closed factories and unused warehouses.
Of late, several organised drug gangs have been taking advantage of defunct industrial premises to secretly produce synthetic drugs, including Alprazolam and other psychotropic substances. The lack of continuous monitoring in certain industrial pockets and poor inter-departmental coordination have allegedly resulted in such activities going unabated for long.
It is alleged that while many industrial units that had secured permissions from the Industries Department were not being periodically checked to verify whether they were carrying out authorised activities, in several cases, once licences expired or operations ceased, there was little follow-up on what was happening within the premises.
Though violations were sometimes identified during inspections, enforcement measures were often delayed or limited to actions such as disconnecting electricity supply.
To address these gaps, the Hyderabad Police EAGLE Team has drawn up a comprehensive action plan in coordination with the Telangana Drug Control Administration, the Prohibition and Excise Department, the Factories Department, and the Telangana State Pollution Control Board.
As part of the intensified drive, authorities will closely monitor pharmaceutical manufacturing units, chemical factories, laboratories, and research and development centres. Joint surprise inspections will be conducted in suspicious units, with departments sharing intelligence in real time.
Officials have also flagged concerns that certain small-scale pharma companies were allegedly leasing out reactors and chemical processing equipment to unauthorised entities, which are then misused for illegal drug production. A detailed report is being prepared on the status of closed industrial units to prevent their infrastructure from being exploited.
The Drug Control Administration has been tasked not only with issuing licences but also with ensuring that licensed pharmaceutical units do not divert raw materials for unlawful purposes. If there is credible information about narcotics manufacturing, the EAGLE team and the Excise Department will step in for immediate inspections.
The Pollution Control Board, which routinely monitors industrial emissions and effluents, will alert enforcement agencies if waste linked to drug manufacturing is detected. Thus, intelligence sharing and stricter field enforcement are expected to cut off the supply chain of synthetic narcotics.
