Cracking Down on Codeine: Major Cough Syrup Racket Busted

An FIR was lodged against 12 medical store owners and others for a massive illegal trade of codeine-based cough syrup, valued at Rs 57 crore. The case stems from forged sales records and smuggling activities. An SIT has been set up to further investigate the matter.

A major illegal trade operation involving codeine-based cough syrup has been uncovered, leading to an FIR against 12 medical store owners and others, authorities revealed on Sunday.

Superintendent of Police Ayush Srivastava noted that Drug Inspector Rajat Kumar Pandey filed the complaint, naming mastermind Shubham Jaiswal and his father Bhola Prasad among the accused. They face allegations of fraud and criminal conspiracy.

Investigations by the drug department revealed over 37 lakh bottles of codeine syrup, amounting to Rs 57 crore, were fraudulently sold via forged documents. These products were sourced from Ranchi and purportedly distributed across UP districts, but in reality, they were smuggled to Bihar, Jharkhand, and West Bengal.

The racket came to light following the seizure of a truck transporting the syrup in Ghaziabad. Consequently, a week-long drive by the FSDA UP from November 12-19 exposed significant billing and record manipulation. Superintendent of Police Kaustubh has since formed a three-member Special Investigation Team (SIT) to delve deeper into the case.

(With inputs from agencies.)