RAWALPINDI, Dec 19: Police arrested a sanitary inspector of the Federal Government Services Hospital, Islamabad, commonly known as Polyclinic, here on Sunday after stolen drugs worth Rs1.5 million were recovered from him.

A team of the district health department, led by Executive District Health Dr Zafar Iqbal Gondal, and police raided the house of Mian Khalid Habib in the city' Dhoke Kala locality. Officials said the sanitary inspector planned to sell the drugs in the markets of Peshawar.

Dr Gondal told Dawn that the district health department team comprising drug inspectors Naveed Anwar, Mohammad Shoiab, Mohammad Jawad and Mohammad Munir and Drug Control Board Secretary Abid Saeed Baig conducted the raid.

He said Habib was also working with the purchase department of the hospital. He alleged that the inspector had been stealing medicines from the hospital for many years and selling them to a dealer in Peshawar.

According to the official, the health department authorities received information about the presence of stolen drugs in his house before Ashura but the raid could be organized after securing arrest warrants from a local magistrate. He said women police were also with the team when it entered the inspector's house.

He suspected there was a gang involved in stealing drugs from the hospital, saying investigation would reveal more names.

He said the medicines were stamped and property of the Polyclinic Hospital. He said the recovered medicines include an injection for hepatitis c, Human Albumin, which costs Rs5,000. Other medicines recovered included Tienem 500mg, Sulzone, Tazocin, Augmentin, Brufen, Ciproxen, Viagra, Haemacil, Propofol and different types of insulin.

He said Punjab secretary health was monitoring the campaign against spurious drugs on daily basis. He said an FIR had been lodged with Sadiqabad police station under section 23/27 of Drug Act 1976.