Prescription drug racket busted: College student among 5 held

The racket came to light when three men, identified as ‘Asthma’ Suresh (40), ‘Vendakkai’ Dinesh (23) and ‘Mandai’ Arun (20), attacked one Karthik (21) in Ice House police station limit on Wednesday. Officials said Karthik suffered injuries on his face and neck.

Investigating the case, the police found out that the victim was actually peddling a prescription drug that is used to treat insomnia and that the chain of events was triggered over a dispute over payment.

According to senior police officers, Suresh, Dinesh and Arun came to know that Karthik was dealing with the tablet, which is used as a narcotic. But when they approached him to buy it, the latter refused to give them the tablet without receiving payment first. This enraged Suresh, Dinesh and Arun, who thrashed him leaving him with injuries.

The incident happened at Muthaiah Garden.

After inquiry, the police arrested the trio for attacking Karthik. Meanwhile, Karthik and his associate Ajith, a final year undergraduate student, were also arrested in a separate case for selling prescription tablets, on Thursday. Police also seized 139 tablets from them.