ED raids 25 locations across 3 states in illegal codeine-based cough syrup case

LUcknow: The Enforcement board of directors (ED) raided 25 locations at the same time crossways vi cities in deuce-ace states — Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand and Gujarat — on Friday morning in connection with a major illegal network dealing in codeine-based cough syrup, ED officials said.In Lucknow, raids were conducted at five locations, including the residences of suspended Uttar Pradesh police constable Alok Pratap Singh, Jaunpur businessman Amit Kumar Singh, alias Amit Tata, and three others.“At around 7:30 am, a team of nearly 20 ED officials arrived at Alok Pratap Singh’s bungalow in Swastik City on Sultanpur Road. Investigators seized multiple documents, three mobile phones and several files relevant to the probe,” an officer said.Two houses belonging to the alleged kingpin, Shubham Jaiswal — believed to be operating the nexus from Dubai — were raided in Varanasi.Raids were also conducted at the premises of chartered accountant Vishnu Agarwal, the office of Abbott Pharmaceuticals, several other firms, and two major pharmaceutical companies in Ranchi and Ahmedabad. In addition, raids were carried out in Saharanpur and Ghaziabad.Searches continued through the afternoon at the offices of Edhika Life Sciences in LDA Colony and Transport Nagar, and at the residences of Prasad Jaiswal and Archana Manohar Jaiswal in Kailash Vihar, Sarojininagar.Also Read: One arrested, 25,950 bottles of Codeine syrup recovered in VaranasiThe racket first came to light in February 2024, when a large consignment of illicit Phensedyl cough syrup was seized in the Sushant Golf City area of Lucknow.Subsequent investigations by the UP Special Task Force (STF) led to the arrest of Vibhor Rana and Vishal, who disclosed the existence of a much larger network. It was during this interrogation that the name of Varanasi resident Shubham Jaiswal surfaced for the first time.Continued probe and the arrests of Amit ‘Tata’ and dismissed police constable Alok Singh on November 27 and December 2, respectively, revealed the full scale of the illegal trade.Also Read: Codeine-based cough syrup syndicate: Interrogation reveals key role of Saharanpur brothersThe ED subsequently registered a case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) on December 1 and began tracing financial links.For the past five days, the ED had been scrutinising details of more than 80 firms allegedly linked to over 20 accused, including Shubham Jaiswal, Alok Pratap Singh, Amit Singh Tata, Vibhor Rana and Vishala Rana.On December 8, the ED pasted a notice at Jaiswal’s Varanasi residence, summoning him despite his suspected presence in Dubai. Once the financial trail and property details were consolidated, Friday’s coordinated raids were launched.