A June 2026 NCB report unveiled by the Home Minister found Punjab recorded the country's highest seizure of codeine-based cough syrup, with buprenorphine, tramadol and alprazolam increasingly diverted into illegal markets through pharmacies that ignore prescription norms. The diversion mechanics are documented case by case. In July 2025, Punjab Police traced a 35-tablet street recovery in Amritsar back to Lucent Biotech in Haridwar, seizing 74,465 tramadol tablets and flagging diversion of 'government supply only' medical stock.

Source: The India Print (Jun/Jul 2026); Devdiscourse (Jul 31, 2025)

The largest documented pipeline ran on paper — and it was smashed back in December 2023. Police say 14.72 lakh tramadol tablets moved from Ahmedabad-based Gloss Pharmaceutical through forged documents of a Hapur (UP) wholesale unit, then via Agra to Amritsar — coordinated, per police, by Yogesh Kumar Rinku from inside Mansa Jail, on a mobile phone. In August 2026, the Central Bureau of Narcotics' Operation Vajra 2.0 intercepted 66.8 lakh psychotropic tablets — 59.08 lakh alprazolam, 7.48 lakh tramadol, plus nitrazepam and clonazepam — on the Chandigarh–Baddi corridor, in a truck carrying no invoices. Traffickers had erased batch numbers and expiry dates, and packs marked 'Not to be sold in Punjab/Haryana' were being driven into the region anyway.

Source: MedBound Times; ANI via WebIndia123 (Dec 25, 2023); ANI via WebIndia123 and LatestLY (Aug 29, 2026)

66.8 lakhpsychotropic pills seized in Operation Vajra 2.0, Aug 2026
14.72 lakhtramadol tablets in the Ahmedabad–Amritsar pipeline
520chemist licences suspended in Punjab's crackdown

The state's response has teeth, on paper at least. Between April 2025 and September 2026 the Drugs Wing conducted 16,788 inspections, seized medicines worth ₹20.64 crore from 214 firms, suspended 520 chemist licences and cancelled 22, with 54 court cases filed. Pregabalin — among the most misused pills in Punjab — was brought under Schedule H1 of the Drugs Rules on May 13, 2026, effective November 12, 2026, after Punjab repeatedly pressed the Centre. The Punjab and Haryana High Court has backed strict action, upholding a chemist's licence cancellation for unaccounted psychotropic stock.

Source: Punjab government release via Mint (Oct 16, 2026); LiveLaw (Sep 2026)