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Drugs Ban
Republican Ohio gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy has expressed alarm that a man who worked as his family's bodyguard is facing federal drug trafficking charges. Justin Salsburey, 43, of Bellefontaine, and his wife, Ruthann Rankin, were each charged late last month with conspiracy and possession with the intent to distribute large amounts of narcotics through the US mail. Salsburey was employed by a private security firm hired by the Ramaswamys for protective services, according to campaign spokesperson Connie Luck. She said that ARK Protection Group removed him from the family's security detail immediately upon learning of the matter. According to the criminal complaints, 261 parcels containing counterfeit OxyContin and other pills were delivered to the couple's western Ohio home between August 2024 and last month. Rankin has been removed from her employment as a schoolteacher in nearby Urbana, according to a statement posted by the district. Salsburey is being held in the .
The US Coast Guard said Friday it's still searching for people in the eastern Pacific Ocean who had jumped off alleged drug-smuggling boats when the US military attacked the vessels days earlier, diminishing the likelihood that anyone survived. Search efforts began Tuesday afternoon after the military notified the Coast Guard that survivors were in the water about 400 miles (650 kilometres) southwest of the border between Mexico and Guatemala, the maritime service said in a statement. The Coast Guard dispatched a plane from Sacramento to search an area covering more than 1,000 miles (1,600 kilometres), while issuing an urgent warning to ships nearby. The agency said it coordinated more than 65 hours of search efforts, working with other countries as well as civilian ships and boats in the area. The weather during that time has included 9-foot seas and 40-knot winds. The US has not said how many people jumped into the water, and, if they are not found, how far the death toll may ris
The Union Health Ministry has banned the manufacture, sale and distribution of all oral formulations containing the popular painkiller nimesulide above 100 mg, citing serious risks to health, an official notification said. The decision was taken following a recommendation by ICMR, the apex health research body of India, it said. "The Central government is satisfied that the use of all oral formulations containing Nimesulide above 100 mg in immediate release dosage form is likely to involve risk to human beings and that safer alternatives to the said drug are available," the notification issued on Monday said. It stated that it is necessary and expedient in the public interest to prohibit the manufacture, sale and distribution of the drug in the country for human use. "Now, therefore, in exercise of the powers conferred by section 26A of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940 and after consultation with the Drugs Technical Advisory Board, the Centre, hereby prohibits the manufacture, sal
The US military said Monday that it attacked three boats accused of smuggling drugs in the eastern Pacific Ocean, killing a total of eight people as scrutiny over the boat strikes is intensifying in Congress. The military said in a statement on social media that the strikes targeted designated terrorist organisations, killing three people in the first vessel, two in the second boat and three in the third boat. It didn't provide evidence of their alleged drug trafficking but posted a video of a boat moving through water before exploding. President Donald Trump has justified the attacks as a necessary escalation to stem the flow of drugs into the United States and asserted the US is engaged in an armed conflict with drug cartels. But the Trump administration is facing increasing scrutiny from lawmakers over the boat strike campaign, which has killed at least 95 people in 25 known strikes since early September, including a follow-up strike that killed two survivors clinging to the ...
The Kerala government on Tuesday banned the distribution of medicines manufactured by Tamil Nadu-based Sresan Pharmaceuticals. The decision follows steps by the Tamil Nadu Drugs Controller to cancel the company's licence, state Health Minister Veena George said. Sales of Respifresh TR, manufactured by a Gujarat-based firm, were also stopped immediately after the drug was found to be substandard, the minister said in a statement. There are five distributors in the state supplying this medicine, and they have been instructed to stop distribution, George said. Strict action will be taken against those selling this medicine. Those in possession of this drug are requested not to use it. These medicines are not distributed through government hospitals. She added that strict action would be initiated against establishments that provide medicines to children under the age of 12 without a prescription from an authorised doctor. The ban comes after reports that 14 children in Chhindwara, M
The Narendra Modi government is determined to wipe out all kinds of narcotics from the nation and is making an all-out effort to achieve this goal, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said on Tuesday. Addressing the Second National Conference of Heads of Anti-Narcotics Task Force (ANTF) of States and Union Territories, he also said the time has come to change the scale of action against the drug menace so that there are more successes in the coming days. The conference, organised by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), began here on Tuesday. The home minister said Prime Minister Modi has set a target of 2047 to make India a fully developed and great nation. To achieve this dream of PM Modi, the country has to be fully secure, he said. "The Modi government is determined to wipe out the drug menace from the country and is making all-out efforts to achieve this goal," Shah said. "PM Modi has set forth the vision of creating an India by 2047 that will be the world's number one in every aspec
Apex drugs regulatory body CDSCO has directed drug controllers of all states and Union territories to stop manufacture, sale and distribution of unapproved 35 fixed-dose combination drugs that include painkillers, nutrition supplements and anti-diabetics. They have also been asked to review their approval process for such fixed dose combination drugs (FDC) and ensure strict compliance of the provisions of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act 1940 and rules. FDC drugs are those which contain a combination of two or more active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) in a fixed ratio. The regulator issued the directions after it found that certain FDC drugs have been licensed for manufacture, sale, and distribution without prior evaluation of safety and efficacy, posing a serious risk to public health and safety. In a communication sent on April 11, Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) Dr Rajeev Raghuvanshi referred to the letter issued by his office on January 2013 where concerns were raise
Punjab Police has launched a statewide operation against drugs, conducting raids at 750 locations as the cabinet sub-committee on the drug menace held its first meeting on Saturday, officials said. Around 12,000 police personnel were involved in the operation being carried out as part of an anti-drug campaign. Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Friday set a deadline of three months to make the state drug-free. As part of the state government's renewed push against the drug problem, action is being taken against drug peddlers and in some places, their properties were also demolished. Cabinet Minister Aman Arora on Saturday appealed to all political parties that instead of playing politics, they should extend their support to the state government's anti-drug campaign to save Punjab. The meeting of the cabinet sub-committee was also attended by Chief Secretary KAP Sinha and Director General of Police Gaurav Yadav. Addressing the media after the meeting, Finance Minister Harpal Si
A bipartisan group of lawmakers looking for reforms at the World Anti-Doping Agency reintroduced a bill that would give the White House permanent authority to withhold money from the drug-fighting agency. The Restoring Confidence in the World Anti-Doping Agency Act would make permanent an already temporary ability to hold back the money. It would put more teeth behind the government's recent decision not to pay $3.6 million to WADA a move WADA said would cost the U.S. its seat on one of its top policymaking boards. The federal government has long been critical of WADA. The agency's handling of a doping case involving Chinese swimmers who were allowed to compete despite testing positive reignited tensions that have simmered since the Russian doping scandal erupted in 2014. My colleagues and I have a message for WADA, the IOC, and any other international organization who tries to strong-arm the United States: we are calling your bluff, and we won't be silenced in our mission to promo
The Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) has helped in detection of undisclosed income of Rs 11,000 crore and seizure of 461 kg of narcotic drugs, the finance ministry said on Thursday. The FIU under the finance ministry collects, analyses and disseminates information to law enforcement agencies about suspicious financial transactions pertaining to money laundering, terror and proliferation financing. The intelligence shared by FIU-IND with agencies has led to Rs 983 crore worth of assets attached, Rs 2,763 crore worth criminal proceeds identified and Rs 10,998 crore undisclosed income detected. Besides, it helped in seizure of 461 kg of narcotic/psychotropic substances, levy of Rs 39.14 crore penalty and 184 arrests in money laundering and terror financing cases. In a post on X, the finance ministry also said 46.31 per cent higher refunds were issued between April-November 27, 2024, during FY25. Refunds amounting to Rs 3.08 lakh crore issued during this period.