Lucknow: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday conducted extensive searches at 25 locations in Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand and Gujarat in connection with illegal cough syrup smuggling. Action was taken against the main accused Shubham Jaiswal and his associates.
Shubham Jaiswal and his associates are the main suspects
According to officials, raids were conducted at the premises of Shubham Jaiswal, his associates Alok Singh and Amit Singh. Apart from this, the premises of several cough syrup manufacturing companies and chartered accountant Vishnu Agarwal are also being investigated.
Major smuggling busted in Varanasi
On December 10, Varanasi police conducted a major operation against illegal smuggling of banned cough syrup containing codeine. The police recovered around 30,000 bottles from a godown in the city, estimated to be worth around ₹60 lakh.
DCP Crime gave an update on the situation
“A continuous operation is being carried out against codeine-laced cough syrup in Varanasi. A large quantity of syrup was stored in this godown. 30,000 bottles were recovered. The land of this illegal godown belongs to Manoj Kumar Yadav, a close associate of Shubham Jaiswal. Two suspects were arrested on the spot.”
FIR and case registered under NDPS Act
Senior police officials said that on November 15, an FIR was registered under the NDPS Act at the Kotwali police station in Varanasi. In it, Shubham Jaiswal, his father Bhola Prasad Jaiswal and 28 others were accused of smuggling codeine-laced syrup.
FIR quashed in court
Shubham Jaiswal, who is already facing several cases in Varanasi and Ghaziabad, has moved the court seeking quashing of the FIR and a stay on his arrest.