ACC unearths drug theft racket at CMCH

The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has uncovered evidence of drug theft at Chattogram medical college hospital (CMCH), revealing irregularities in the distribution of free medicines to patients.

The drive led by Assistant Director Enamul Haque of the ACC Integrated district office Chattogram-1, took place today (11 January).

During the operation, the ACC team identified seven individuals involved in the theft of government medicines and recommended that the hospital authorities take appropriate action against them.

The investigation stemmed from patient complaints, prompting the ACC team to initiate the operation in the hospital's emergency department. Subsequently, a raid was conducted in medicine ward number 13, exposing evidence of irregularities in the distribution of government drugs.

"Hospital employees engaged in the theft of medicines were selling them outside the hospital instead of providing them to the patients in need. The illicit operation even involved generating fake prescriptions from doctors for the sold medicines," said ACC Assistant Director Enamul Haque.

The ACC team claimed to have discovered concrete evidence indicating that patients seeking treatment at the hospital did not receive the prescribed medication, as the allotted medicines were being sold outside.

Enamul Haque said, "From the medicine store to the ward, patients are not actually receiving the medicines allocated for them. Manipulation is occurring at the store, and we have identified discrepancies in the registrar. We have collected documentation of these irregularities, which will be thoroughly scrutinised, and a comprehensive report will be submitted to the ACC headquarters."

A prior ACC operation in March 2022 had already exposed irregularities in the drug supply chain at the hospital.