NEW DELHI: At least three Indian states have banned a cough syrup after several children died allegedly after consuming the product, said local authorities and reports.
The death of at least nine children, all aged under five, since late August, in the states of Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan have been linked to a cough medicine they were prescribed.
India’s health ministry Saturday said laboratory tests on samples of the syrup the children had consumed revealed it was contaminated with diethylene glycol (DEG), a toxic substance used in industrial solvents that can be fatal if ingested even in small amounts.
“The samples are found to contain DEG beyond the permissible limit,” the ministry said in a statement.
The product sold under the brand name Coldrif Cough Syrup was manufactured by Sresan Pharma at a unit in the southern state of Tamil Nadu.
“The sale of this syrup has been banned throughout Madhya Pradesh,” said Mohan Yadav, chief minister of the central state of Madhya Pradesh, where most of the deaths have been reported.
“The sale of other products from the company that manufactures the syrup is also being banned.”
Authorities in the states of Tamil Nadu and Kerala have also banned the product, local media reports said.
Cough syrups manufactured in India have come under global scrutiny in recent years with deaths linked to their consumption reported from around the world, including the death of more than 70 children in The Gambia in 2022.
Indian states ban cough syrup linked to child deaths
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Indian states ban cough syrup linked to child deaths
- The death of at least nine children, all aged under five, since late August, in the states of Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan have been linked to a cough medicine they were prescribed
Police ground drone drug flights from Morocco to Spain
- The drones would depart from southern Spain to pick up the drugs in Morocco and return
- Packages were equipped with fluorescent markers and radio-linked geolocation devices to aid night-time recovery
MADRID: Spanish police said Wednesday they had arrested nine people and dismantled a criminal network that used homemade drones “with exceptional range” to transport hashish from Morocco to Spain.
The drones would depart from southern Spain to pick up the drugs in Morocco and return, releasing the cargo over Vejer de la Frontera and Tarifa in Cadiz province, Spain’s Guardia Civil police force said in a statement.
Packages were equipped with fluorescent markers and radio-linked geolocation devices to aid night-time recovery, it added.
Police said the group manufactured the drones, which were capable of flying over 200 kilometers (120 miles) using components brought from Asian suppliers at a workshop in Alcala de los Gazules.
“The group developed homemade drones with exceptional range, accuracy, and carrying capacity, well beyond that of standard commercial models,” the statement said.
The network operated nearly every night, launching up to 10 drones simultaneously and moving roughly 200 kilograms (440 pounds) of hashish in a single night.
The operation, dubbed “Ruche” which means “beehive” in French, was carried out in cooperation with the Royal Moroccan Gendarmerie after authorities detected multiple unidentified drone flights between the two countries.
Police seized eight drones, and another 10 which were being built, in five raids carried out Monday in southern Spain, along with over 150 kilograms of hashish and 320,000 euros ($370,000) in cash.
Nine people have been arrested so far.
Northern Morocco is just 14 kilometers from Spain’s southern Andalusia region at the Strait of Gibraltar’s narrowest point.
Spain is a major entry point for hashish into Europe because of its proximity to Morocco, a key producer of the drug.
Last year, Spanish police busted a criminal network that used Ukrainian-made drones to fly hashish from Morocco to Spain.
The devices used by that group were capable of transporting up to just 10 kilograms of drugs per trip and had an autonomy of more than 50 kilometers.
