Court refuses bail to Bengaluru company COO in tramadol smuggling case

Apr 25, 2025 07:28 AM IST

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The firm had allegedly mis-declared the banned psychotropic substance as Tamol-X-225, a calcium carbonate tablet and was trying to smuggle it abroad

MUMBAI: A special Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) court on April 8, rejected the bail plea of the chief operating officer of a Bangalore-based company, who was arrested by the customs department for allegedly attempting to smuggle around one million tramadol tablets worth ₹21 crore to Sudan in February 2023. The consignment was intercepted by the customs department before it could be shipped to a pharmacy firm in Juba, South Sudan.

FILE - This Feb. 19, 2013, file photo shows OxyContin pills arranged for a photo at a pharmacy in Montpelier, Vt. Purdue University wants the public to know that it has no connection to a company blamed for helping drive the nation's opioid crisis. The university has spent years repeating that it has no affiliation to Purdue Pharma, the maker of the prescription painkiller OxyContin. But university spokesman Tim Doty says the news that Purdue Pharma is negotiating a multibillion-dollar settlement to resolve lawsuits over the opioid crisis is a good time for the school to repeat that "That's not us." (AP Photo/Toby Talbot, File) (AP)

This is the fourth bail plea filed by the 49-year-old COO of M/s First Wealth Solutions, Gudipati Subramaniyam. The firm had allegedly mis-declared the banned psychotropic substance as Tamol-X-225, a calcium carbonate tablet and was trying to smuggle it abroad, but the central intelligence unit of the customs department intercepted and seized the shipment. On examination of the drug substance at the Air Cargo Complex in Sahar, reports declared it as tramadol. As per the prosecution, Subramaniyam attempted to export the mis-declared tramadol tablets earlier as well.

The COO had sought bail contending that there were irregularities in terms of the procedures followed to examine the seized drugs. He stated that as per section 52 A of the NDPS act, the magistrate is required to certify photographs and sign on the samples of the seized materials. Gudipati alleged that there was a violation of the said section and that the samples were not signed by the magistrate and argued that in such a case, he was entitled to be released on bail. To this, the court observed that any procedural irregularity under section 52 A of NDPS Act would not entitle him to be released on bail or make the entire evidence collected during the course of investigation inadmissible.

“As earlier bail applications of the accused were rejected by the trial Court till Apex Court observing that, applicant along with co-accused were acting pursuant to their criminal conspiracy to export Tramadol to Sudan without export authorization”, observed special judge CS Datir while rejecting Subramaniya’s bail plea. The judgement further added that there was no gross violation of any section of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substance Act, 1985 as alleged by the accused. Additionally, the court has stated that the criminal activities and the conspiracy of the applicant has been established prima-facie.