By IANS,
Patiala (Punjab) : In the aftermath of the doping scandal and reports of steroids and anabolic drugs being sold here, sleuths of the state drugs authority Wednesday conducted surprise raids at medical stores located in the vicinity of the National Institute of sports (NIS).
According to officials, the raids were conducted with the assistance of the state police and many samples of the drugs were also confiscated for laboratory checks.
“We have conducted raids at various chemist shops in Patiala, especially at shops located in the vicinity of NIS. We would continue these raids in the coming days and checks will also be conducted in other districts. There are certain shops that are under the scanner,” said a senior Punjab government official Wednesday.
“If we find any chemist selling banned anabolic drugs or objectionable steroids then criminal action will be taken against him. They are not allowed to sell these drugs without a proper prescription from a recognised doctor. We would also check the past sale records of the shops.”
Indian sports was rocked by eight athletes testing positive for banned durgs. Punjab’s star quarter-miler Mandeep Kaur was among the two athletes who returned positive in a World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) test. The other six returned positive in tests conducted by the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA)
Meanwhile, officials of NIS admitted that such banned drugs are easily available in stores near the complex.
“There are many shops, situated close to NIS, which are selling performance enhancing drugs. They are easily available and anybody can go and buy them. This crackdown should have happened long time back,” said a senior NIS official, requesting anonymity.