WMLRO.Com: another kind of drug smuggling

The cough syrup, branded Phensedyl, is legal in India and can be bought over the counter. Bangladeshi Muslims, prohibited by law from the consumption of alcohol - a main ingredient in many cough syrups, choose the codeine based medicine for its soporific effects.

But codeine has side effects if taken for extended periods and it is also addictive. In the UK, for example, Solpediene, an over the counter pain killer which combines paracetamol and codeine is now available only in packs of 32 tablets, that is three days's supply at the maximum recommended dose. Sales of multiple packs are prohibited.

Bangladeshis have taken to the syrup because of its mild narcotic effect and it was banned because of increasing levels of abuse.

But the supply is maintained by smugglers.

Now, in one of the most high profile smuggling cases, an Army major has been cashiered having been found guilty of smuggling hundreds of bottles of the syrup across the border.

Reza Shah Mohammad Zillullah has also been sentenced to a jail term of one year.