Ahmedabad, June 16 (IANS). Narcotics Control Bureau Director General Anurag Garg on Tuesday released a voluntary code of conduct for the chemical and pharmaceutical industry. Its objective is to prevent misuse of precursor chemicals in the illegal manufacture of narcotics.
Speaking at a conference held in Ahmedabad, Garg said that even though law enforcement agencies play an important role in prevention and investigation, the fight against synthetic drugs cannot be won by action alone.
He said that manufacturers, importers, exporters, distributors, transporters and traders associated with the chemicals sector are in a position to identify signals such as suspicious orders, unusual purchase patterns, abnormal consumption trends and attempts to conceal end use, which could lead to misuse.
They also issued a Voluntary Code of Conduct for the Chemical Industry, which is a guideline. It aims to promote responsible chemical management, strengthen supply chain security and encourage early identification and reporting of suspicious transactions.
A statement said the main focus of the program was to prevent the misuse of chemicals that could be used in the illicit manufacture of narcotics, psychotropic substances and new synthetic drugs.
Senior officials of NCB and Central Narcotics Bureau participated in this conference. Along with this, representatives of major industry organizations and companies of chemical and pharmaceutical sector were also present.
In the conference, officials of NCB and CBN gave detailed information on the changing status of synthetic drugs, new trends of illegal manufacturing and increasing misuse of precursor chemicals.
The participants were told that criminal networks are increasingly using alternative chemicals and alternative precursor substances to evade controls, hence the need for industry vigilance.
Industry representatives welcomed the initiative and shared their experiences related to chemical management, supply chain security, customer scrutiny and voluntary self-regulation.
They said that the security of the legitimate chemical supply chain is a shared responsibility and they are committed to supporting the objectives of this Code.
Garg appealed to the industry to voluntarily adopt this guidance and strengthen their internal compliance systems, customer verification process, transaction monitoring and record keeping systems.
He also encouraged the industry to immediately report any suspicious activity, unusual transactions or attempts to procure chemicals without valid reason to the NCB.
This voluntary code of conduct is not only for those chemicals which are controlled under NDPS, but also for other chemicals which may be used in the manufacture of synthetic drugs and new psychoactive substances.
–IANS
AMT/ABM