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The Enforcement Directorate has exposed a massive cough syrup smuggling racket in Uttar Pradesh involving over 700 fake firms and billions in illegal earnings. The probe reveals deep-rooted fraud, money laundering, and system-level complicity.
ED Investigation Uncovers Massive Scam
Lucknow: An investigation by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) into the illegal trafficking and black market of cough syrup in Uttar Pradesh has revealed a shocking truth.
According to the ED, this is the biggest and most organized fraud in the history of Uttar Pradesh. The investigation revealed that more than 700 shell companies were created through the cough syrup racket, through which billions of rupees were illegally earned.
According to the evidence gathered by the ED so far, more than 700 firms were created in the names of approximately 220 people. Most of these firms existed only on paper.
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They had neither a real office nor any actual business activity. In many cases, the people identified as the authorized operators of the firms were found to exist only in the documents.
The ED conducted raids at more than 25 locations in Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, and Jharkhand for over 40 hours. During this time, the entire network of illegal earnings from cough syrup, the network of shell companies, and the money laundering operation were exposed. ED officials say they have never seen such a widespread and planned fraud in UP before.
The Mastermind of the Cough Syrup Scandal
The investigation also revealed that several officials of a cough syrup manufacturing company were aware of this illegal activity but deliberately remained silent.
This makes it clear that not only smugglers but also some people within the system were involved in this entire racket. The STF had already indicated that officials of the pharmaceutical company would also come under the purview of the investigation.
According to ED sources, the mastermind of this racket, Shubham Jaiswal, is hiding in Dubai. Besides him, several suspicious and large transactions have been found in the bank accounts of Alok Singh, Amit Tata, and Shubham's father, Bhola Prasad Jaiswal.
Complete details of some transactions are still unavailable. Financial transactions involving some firms in Ranchi and Dhanbad have also come to light.
ED Crackdown Unmasks a Billion-Rupee Cough Syrup Mafia Across Three States
The ED says that the investigation is ongoing and more shell companies, new names, and assets may be revealed in the coming days. The scope of the investigation will expand further after receiving the list from the GST department. The ED may soon initiate proceedings to seize illegal assets in this case.
