Gujarat: Narcotics Control Bureau launches code of conduct to curb diversion of chemicals to formulate synthetic drugs

THE NARCOTICS Control Bureau (NCB) on Tuesday launched Voluntary Code of Conduct on the prevention of diversion of precursor chemicals in Gujarat and appealed to industry to inform authorities of any suspicious transactions of controlled substances so that the trafficking of such chemicals could be prevented.

The VCC is a “guidance framework developed to encourage responsible chemical stewardship, strengthen supply-chain integrity and promote early detection and reporting of suspicious transactions involving chemicals that could potentially be diverted for illicit drug manufacture.”

Gujarat was an interesting choice from where to launch the national initiative asking the industry to partner with law enforcement on this issue considering that last year itself, the state became the focus of an international investigation across four countries when precursor chemicals for the drug Fentanyl were trafficked from Surat City in India to Guatemala, and made their way to Mexico, and were allegedly bound as finished product into the US.

In a statement on Tuesday, the NCB said, “The NCB called upon the chemical and pharmaceutical industry to actively partner with law-enforcement agencies in preventing the diversion of precursor chemicals and other substances that may be misused for the illicit manufacture of narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances and emerging synthetic drugs.”

The launch function was organised in Ahmedabad in the presence of the NCB’s Director General Anurag Garg and attended by officials from the Central Bureau of Narcotics (CBN), along with representatives of major industry associations and companies from the chemical and pharmaceutical sectors.

During the launch on June 16, the NCB statement said, “The participants were briefed on how criminal networks continuously seek alternative chemicals and substitute precursor substances to evade regulatory controls, making industry vigilance an essential component of India’s anti-drug strategy.”

The statement quoted DG Anurag Garg as saying, “While enforcement agencies play a critical role in interdiction and investigation, the fight against synthetic drugs cannot be won through enforcement action alone. Manufacturers, importers, exporters, distributors, transporters and traders dealing in chemicals are uniquely positioned to identify suspicious orders, unusual procurement patterns, abnormal consumption trends, attempts to conceal end-use information and other indicators of possible diversion.”

Story continues below this ad

Speaking on behalf of the industry, Dr Jaimin Vasa, President of Gujarat Chemical Association said that practical realities of customer verification could be very complex.

He said, “Customers may operate through intermediaries, distributors, brokers, or multiple business entities. Documentation may appear complete, yet the actual end use of a chemical may not always be fully transparent. Companies frequently encounter situations where new customers place unusually large orders, purchase quantities appear inconsistent with declared business activities, delivery locations differ from registered business addresses, customers resist providing adequate documentation, and transactions involve unusual urgency or unconventional payment arrangements. In such situations, businesses must carefully balance commercial considerations with compliance responsibilities.”

Cases of precursor chemicals diversion

On April 23, 2026, Satishkumar Hareshbhai Sutaria (37) and Yuktakumari Ashishkumar Modi (26), residents of Surat, Gujarat, and two companies they are associated with, SR Chemicals, and Agrat Chemicals and Pharmaceuticals, were among 23 global entities sanctioned by the US Department of Treasury for being part of the global supply chain supporting the Mexico-based Sinaloa drug cartel who are accused of manufacturing highly potent drugs like Fentanyl from precursor chemicals obtained from Asia, and then trafficking it into the United States. The Guatamela-based firm J&C Imports, to whom they were allegedly trafficking Fentanyl precursors, and its owner, have also been sanctioned by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).

The Indian Express had reported this in detail on April 25.

Story continues below this ad

In another such case, on March 20, 2025, the US Department of Justice (DOJ), charged Vasudha Pharma Chem, a Hyderabad-based chemical manufacturing company, and three of its high-level employees, in federal court in Washington, DC, for illegally importing precursor chemicals used to make illicit fentanyl into the US.

Earlier this year, in April 2026, Bhavesh Lathiya, the founder and promoter of Raxuter Chemicals, based in Gujarat’s Surat, pleaded guilty to distributing and smuggling 50 pounds of fentanyl precursor chemicals in the US.