Drug stores in the city's Mitford area keep their shutters down during a five-hour strike of the wholesale pharmacies in Dhaka and Chittagong yesterday. Photo: Star

Wholesale medicine markets in the capital and Chittagong city observed a five-hour strike yesterday protesting seizure of huge medicines and arrest of three staff from a drug store in the port city on Wednesday.

Bangladesh Chemists and Druggists Association enforced the strike.

Around 2,500 wholesale pharmacies in Mitford area in the capital and over 300 drug stores at KC Dey Road-Hazari Lane in the port city kept their shutters down from 9:00am to 2:00pm, causing immense sufferings to patients.

Contacted, Joint Secretary of the association Monir Hossain admitted that the drugs seized by Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) in Chittagong contained contraband ones. He however claimed that most of the drugs were legal.

He alleged that Rab personnel did not show any seizure list of the drugs. And this created suspicion among drug traders, he said.

Earlier on Wednesday night, Rab conducted a raid at Popular Medicine Hall in the port city's Hajari Lane area, seized drugs worth over Tk 20 lakh and arrested three staff.

Our staff correspondent in Chittagong adds:

Employees of the drug store Rab raided said yesterday their central leaders have already informed the higher authorities about the matter, and they expected an end to 'harassment'.

"Our staffs who were arrested have been sent to jail, and we are trying for their release through legal procedures," said one employee.

Meanwhile, many drugs traders here alleged that during law enforcers' raids, legal drugs are also seized along with contraband ones, while costly drugs are not seen in the seizure lists.

Many medicines marketed as foreign products are actually produced locally and a section of physicians prescribe those, they alleged.

"Those who market these medicines and those who prescribe these go unchallenged, but sellers like us have to face harassment," said a pharmacy owner preferring anonymity.