LAHORE: Approving bail requests of all three suspects, the Lahore High Court on Tuesday ordered the release of former director general of health, Asad Hafeez, chief executive officer Danas Pharmaceutical Ansar Farooq, and the owner of Berlex Labs, Iftikhar Ahmed Khan in connection to the Ephedrine quote case.

A divisional bench of the LHC, comprising Justice Chaudhry Mohammad Younis and Justice Ali Baqir Najafi, ordered the release of the three suspects on submission of Rs 10,000 bail each.

Authorities were investigating the three suspects for their alleged involvement in the alleged misuse of controlled substance ephedrine, a case which also embroiled former Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani’s son Ali MUsa Gilani and former Textile Minister Makhdoom Shahabuddin.

According to a challan submitted by the Deputy Director Abid Zulfiqar of the Anti Narcotics Force (ANF), which has been investigating the case, former director general of health Dr Asad Hafeez allegedly misused his authority in the allocation and local sale conversion of 2,500kg ephedrine to the two pharmaceutical companies – Berlex Lab International, of which Ansar Farooq was CEO, and Danas Pharmaceutical, which is owned by the third suspect Iftikhar Ahmed Khan.