The special anti-narcotics court on Thursday issued non-bailable arrest warrants of Ali Musa Gillani, son of former Prime Minister Syed Yousaf, for not appearing before it in ephedrine quota case. Special anti-narcotics court Judge Wajid Ali while hearing the case, issued non-bailable arrest warrants of Musa Gilani and co-accused Malik for not appearing before the court.

The court directed Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF) to arrest both the accused and produce them before it. The court adjourned the hearing till February 21. The main case of Ephedrine was registered by ANF against two pharmaceutical companies, ie, Berlax International Lab and Danas pharmaceutical (Pvt) Ltd on October 10, 2011.

Musa Gillani was named as the accused in the case in 2012 when the ANF initially submitted a report before Supreme Court formally naming Musa Gillani and seven others for their alleged involvement in the scam. Gillani was once arrested by ANF in 2012, right outside the apex court premises. However, he was granted bail by the apex court.

According to ANF, the accused allegedly allocated 6,500kg and 2,500kg of ephedrine to Berlex Lab International, Multan, and Danas Pharma (Pvt) Ltd, Islamabad, respectively, in 2010-11 for export to Iraq and Afghanistan.

The accused managed to convert the allotment of drugs intended for export into local use with the help of health ministry staff and under alleged political pressure from Ali Musa Gilani and Mian Abdul Sattar.

The allocation amounts were in violation of a UN convention that set the export quota for Iraq at 3,000kg and Afghanistan at 50kg. Ephedrine, along with Pseudoephedrine, is one of the main ingredients in methamphetamine, a scheduled narcotic substance.