A large-scale pharmaceutical manufacturing plant was raided in Modara, Colombo 15 for operating without a license, the National Medicines Regulatory Authority (NMRA) said.A 61-year-old resident of Modara, the owner of the plant, has been arrested. He had been operating the pharmaceutical factory in a three-storied building on rent basis.

He had produced and distributed a powerful painkiller which is restricted from use in the country but widely used by drug addicts.

He has produced these drugs with a brand name which was produced in India.A stock of medicinal syrup used for cough and labels were also seized. Around 5,000 capsules of different types of drugs allegedly produced in this factory have been seized from the owner’s house.The officers of the Police Narcotics Bureau have seized a stock of raw materials suspected to have been used for the production of drugs.

The suspect who was arrested had previously produced medicines with a license which expired in 2013.The NMRA said that he was arrested in 2019 while manufacturing medicines in Kelaniya without a license and produced in court.According to the NMRA, the suspect was produced in court on charges of producing, selling, distributing drugs without a license under the National Medicines Regulatory Authority Act No. 5 of 2015.

NMRA Chairman Professor S. D. Jayaratne, Chief Executive Officer Dr. Vijith Gunasekara, Head of Supervision and Enforcement Division, Chief Food and Drug Inspector Amith Perera and other officials conducted the raid.