The Enforcement Directorate has raided 25 locations in Lucknow, Varanasi, Jaunpur and Saharanpur in Uttar Pradesh, as well as Ranchi in Jharkhand and Ahmedabad in Gujarat.
ED raids 25 locations including Lucknow
New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) launched a major operation on Friday morning in the Codeine cough syrup scandal in Uttar Pradesh. Investigating the money laundering angle, the ED simultaneously raided 25 locations across several cities. The raids targeted the syrup syndicate network operating in Lucknow, Varanasi, Jaunpur, Saharanpur, Ahmedabad, and Ranchi. ED teams also searched the premises of Alok Singh, the main accused in the case, in Lucknow.
Two accused involved in the illegal supply of Codeine syrup have been arrested, while one remains at large. Several suspicious financial documents were also recovered during the raids.
The ED has also registered a criminal case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) to probe the illegal manufacturing, trading and transportation of Codeine-based cough syrups (CBCS) and alleged cross-border smuggling into Bangladesh and Nepal.
According to ED officials, the money-laundering investigation is the beginning of a financial probe into the racket, which allegedly earned crores through illegal sale, fake stock entries, forged billing, and benami distribution ring.
The Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) is based on 24 FIRs registered during the last year by UP Police, STF, and FSDA in Uttar Pradesh in various districts including Lucknow, Chandauli, Varanasi, Ghaziabad, Sonbhadra, Sultanpur, Kanpur Nagar, Jaunpur, Bahraich, Bhadohi, and Ghazipur.
According to reports, these cases involve large-scale seizures of illegal or mislabelled codeine syrups, fake GST invoices, storage, unregistered transporters, manipulated stock registers, and suspected covert manufacturing units.
The fake cough syrup scandal was busted on October 11th when a large quantity of codeine-containing syrup, tablets, capsules, and injections were recovered in Lucknow's Krishnanagar area. These drugs are banned and are also used as narcotics. A joint team of the Drugs Department and police raided Deepak Manwani's house and recovered hundreds of litres of cough syrup and narcotic drugs. Police immediately arrested the accused and started further investigation.
When the ED launched its raids against fake Codeine Syrup, its primary goal was to track the illegal money generated by this racket. According to sources, this network operated in Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat, netting millions of rupees in drug trafficking money every month.
