SRINAGAR: The Jammu and Kashmir Drug Control Department has reported seizures of intoxicant drugs worth Rs 56.85 lakh since January 2026 and the cancellation of 25 drug sale licences up to the end of September, asserting that the recoveries were made from alleged drug peddlers and persons involved in the illicit trade, not from licensed pharmacies.
In a statement issued in response to a news report published in a Jammu-based newspaper under the headline “Drug Seizures Mount, But Where Is Drug Controller J&K?”, the department said the seizures, worth Rs 56,85,243, had been effected with the active support and coordination of the Police Department as part of ongoing enforcement efforts against drug peddling and the illegal circulation of habit-forming medicines.
The department said the recovery of illicit drugs from peddlers did not, by itself, establish that the drugs had originated from licensed pharmacies or that the regulatory system had failed. It maintained that the source and supply chain of such recoveries must be established through evidence-based investigations.
The department said it was responsible for regulating the manufacture, sale and distribution of drugs under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940, and the rules framed under it. It added that it had adopted a zero-tolerance approach towards irregularities in the sale, purchase and diversion of habit-forming medicines.
According to the statement, Drug Control Officers conduct regulatory inspections, scrutinise sale and purchase records, verify compliance with statutory requirements and initiate legal or administrative action wherever violations are detected.
The department also said it had ensured 100 per cent compliance with requirements for installing CCTV cameras and adopting computerised billing systems at medical sale establishments. These measures, it said, were intended to improve transparency, strengthen the traceability of pharmaceutical transactions and help identify suspicious sales and prevent the diversion of medicines into unauthorised channels.
Where violations relating to the sale and purchase of habit-forming drugs are detected and substantiated, the department said, the concerned Drug Control Officers recommend appropriate action, including cancellation of drug sale licences, in accordance with applicable legal provisions and prescribed procedures.
It reiterated that it would take stringent action against any licensed establishment found engaging in unlawful practices.
The department further said enforcement against the illicit drug trade involved coordinated efforts by the Police and other concerned agencies, adding that the recovery of illicit stocks from peddlers alone was not sufficient to establish the origin of the drugs.
It said it remained committed to protecting public health, preventing the diversion of habit-forming medicines and ensuring compliance with the legal framework governing drug distribution.
