The Enforcement Directorate (ED) conducted raids on multiple locations in Punjab and Mumbai on Friday, July 18, 2025, as part of a money laundering investigation connected to the illegal sale of drugs by private de-addiction centers. The investigation stems from FIRs filed by the Punjab Police against Dr. Amit Bansal, who operates 22 de-addiction centers across Punjab, along with a pharmaceutical company and a drugs inspector.
The de-addiction centers were authorized by the Punjab government to provide Buprenorphine/Naloxone (BNX) medicine to patients to help them overcome narcotics addiction. However, investigations revealed that these rehabilitation medicines were being procured in excess quantities and illegally sold for drug abuse purposes. It was found that these medicines meant for rehabilitation of drug addicts were being taken in "excess" quantity for a "new kind of drug abuse".
The ED's investigation revealed that Dr. Bansal allegedly misused his de-addiction centers for the illegal sale of drugs. A drugs inspector, Rupinder Kaur, is also under investigation for allegedly assisting Bansal by providing false inspection reports regarding medicine pilferage from his hospitals. The raids also covered Rusan Pharma Limited, a Mumbai-based pharmaceutical company that manufactures BNX. Officials suspect that lapses in the company's distribution monitoring systems might have facilitated the unlawful diversion of the drugs.
The raids were conducted in Chandigarh, Ludhiana, and Barnala in Punjab, and in Mumbai, Maharashtra, under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). During the investigation of one of Dr. Bansal's centers, a discrepancy of 4,610 missing tablets was found. However, the drug inspector's report to the directorate of health and family welfare mentioned only 4,000 missing tablets, allegedly to protect Dr. Bansal from legal repercussions.
Following his arrest by the Vigilance Bureau in January, the state health department suspended the licenses of all 22 centers of Dr. Bansal on January 13. Investigators believe that a significant portion of BNX supplied to Bansal's centers was either not administered to registered patients or was acquired in volumes far exceeding actual treatment requirements. The ED is now examining financial trails to determine how the proceeds from the illegal sale of these medicines were laundered. The role of other pharmaceutical distributors and government officials is also under scrutiny.
