New Delhi: Delhi Police Crime Branch has apprehended two drug traffickers namely Ajay Kumar Tiwari (23 years) and Jaswant Tiwari and recovered 15606 bottles of codeine based cough syrup of ‘Phensedyl’ brand. The recovered contraband is valued Rs.1.20 crore (approximately) in international markets which commonly known as the Purple Drank in the world of drugs.
According to Ravindra yadav, Addl. Commissioner Of Police, Crime Branch, secret input was received by SI Sunil Jain that one Anil resident of Kolkata, after taking Codeine Syrup illegally from some unscrupulous sellers in Agra and Rajasthan, would supply it to Kolkata via Delhi through Railway parcels in connivance with Lallu and Ajay, for further supply to North Eastern states. Accordingly, a team led by Inspr Vivek Pathak and comprising of SI Sunil Jain, HCs Mukesh, Om Parkash, Yogesh, Rajesh, Ct Kheta Ram was constituted under the close supervision of ACP Zile Singh and overall guidance of DCP Bhisham Singh to nab them.
According to Delhi Police sources, Codeine based cough syrup is used for intoxication purpose and is popularly known as Purple Drank. The recovered ‘Phensedyl’ Syrup was to be supplied to Kolkata and thereafter to North-Eastern states like Mizoram where sale of liquor is banned being a dry area. This syrup is sold in those areas for eight to ten times of the maximum retail price. The demand for this syrup is rocketing as it is consumed. as intoxicant by users especially youngsters. Due to its Codeine content, it gives pleasant feeling to the user. Due to high popularity and availability, this syrup is also in great demand in neighbouring Bangladesh and Myanmar. The backdrop of usage of this drug is that opium, coming from the opium poppy plant, was popular in England as early as year 1704. In those early days, opium was usually sold in elixirs such as paregoric, which were marketed as "pain soothers". In 1804, a German pharmacist discovered how to isolate morphine from opium, which gave rise to the discovery in 1832 of Codeine by Pierre Robiquet, a French chemist. The name, "codeine" comes from the Greek word that refers to the head of the poppy Drug manufacturers have had to depend on using the tar from opiate poppies to synthesize morphine, codeine and almost all of the other opiate-based drugs.
The most common medical use of Codeine is related to its ability to suppress or even end chronic coughing, medically called an antitussive. This is commonly known as “purple drank” among users. The physiological effects of purple drank on the user is to produce mild "euphoric side effects", such as lethargy, drowsiness, and a dissociative feeling from all other parts of the body. The super-sweet combination of soda and cough syrup provides a flavor and mouth-feel throughout the day. This phenomenon is often appealing to first time users. Purple drank is often used in combination with alcohol and/or other drugs.
On July 5, 2010, former Oakland Raider quarterback Ja Marcus Russell (a football player) was arrested at his home for possession of codeine syrup without a prescription. Purple Drank’ initially referred to a mixture of codeine cough syrup is also known by other names such as “syrup,” “sizzurp,” “barre,” and “lean.”
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