"I am a 12th pass. Dilip Jaiswal set up my firm and handled everything, from paperwork to transactions. I earned 20,000 rupees a month."
This is how Badal Arya described his role in a sprawling codeine-laced cough syrup smuggling racket recently busted by the Uttar Pradesh police, in what is shaping up to be one of the state’s biggest crackdowns on the illegal trade.
Arya, in his statement said that he was only a minor player in a vast network of fake pharmaceutical firms, through which hundreds of thousands of bottles of syrup were routed across UP, Jharkhand, and West Bengal, eventually even reaching Bangladesh.
Officials on Thursday, 11 December, said that the Uttar Pradesh Police and the Food Safety and Drug Administration (FSDA) have identified more than 10 key suspects allegedly orchestrating the organised nexus behind this racket.
So far, 128 FIRs have been registered, 32 arrests made, and the FSDA has issued notices to cancel 280 drug licenses. Joint investigations by the State Police, Special Task Force (STF), and FSDA have also revealed links to Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab, Delhi, Assam, and Tripura, showing the network spans multiple states.
From ghost pharmacies to fake transactions, here’s everything the investigation has uncovered so far.
Medicine Routed Through Firms Using Fake Identities, Fake Addresses
The entire case centers on the purchase, sale, and supply of the drug. Speaking to The Quint, STF Additional SP Lal Pratap Singh explained that the accused companies would ‘buy’ vials and sell them to other firms, but all transactions existed only on paper.
In reality, the medicine never reached these firms; instead, it was transported from Ranchi through West Bengal and onward to Bangladesh. The investigation also uncovered a long list of fake firms involved in the racket.
The Uttar Pradesh government has formed an Special Investigation Team (SIT) in this case. So far, 128 FIRs have been registered, 32 people have been arrested, and the FSDA (Food Safety and Drug Administration) has sent notices to cancel 280 drug licenses.
Following joint action by the State Police, STF, and FSDA, this network was found to be connected to Himachal, Haryana, Punjab, Delhi, Jharkhand, Assam, and Tripura as well.
"Around 3.5 lakh bottles have been seized so far, valued at approximately 4.5 crore rupees. A total of 32 people involved in this illegal trade have been arrested", said Commissioner FSDA Roshan Jacob.
As per an FIR accessed by The Quint, this supply of codeine-laced cough syrup was largely carried out through fake firms.
According to DGP Rajiv Krishna, police investigation found that many of the medical stores and distributors listed on paper as recipients of the syrup didn’t actually exist.
In numerous cases, there was no shop, storage, license, or documentation. Some names were simply borrowed from street vendors or created using fake identities.
A case has also been registered in Azamgarh in connection with the codeine cough syrup racket.
Speaking to The Quint, Chirag Jain, SP Rural Azamgarh, said that one of the pharmacies involved was A S Pharma, owned by Bipendra Singh of Jethari Narve, Didarganj. During a state-wide crackdown, officials inspected the pharmacy on 28 November and found it closed.
The shop owner Ranjana Mishra, present at the location, said, "A person named Vipendra Singh had rented her shop, but vacated it 1 year ago".
When officials unlocked the premises, no medicine stock was found. Yet, codeine-laced cough syrup had reportedly been purchased in the pharmacy’s name recently.
In several firms, the person selling and buying the codeine cough syrup turned out to be the same person.
For instance, Shubham Jaiswal was listed as the 'competent person' simultaneously for M/s Shaili Traders Pharma in Ranchi and M/s New Vriddhi Pharma in Varanasi—a practice the police say is against the law. On paper, M/s Shaili Traders in Ranchi appeared to have sold a large quantity of codeine-laced cough syrup to the Varanasi-based firm.
During the investigation, authorities discovered that some firms shared the same address.
Varanasi DCP Sarvanan T stated that both M/s DSA Pharma and M/s Mahakal Medical Store in Varanasi were registered at the same location.
According to the FIR, Divyesh Jaiswal, owner of M/s DSA Pharma, had issued an experience certificate to Ankush Singh, proprietor of M/s Mahakal Medical Store. Both firms were shown to have sold large quantities of codeine-laced cough syrup. However, when inspected, both shops were found closed, with all purchases and sales existing only on paper.
A large quantity of codeine-laced cough syrup was sold across several districts in UP, including Varanasi, through Bhola Prasad, owner of the Jharkhand firm M/s Shaili Traders. When authorities investigated the recipient firms, several Varanasi-based businesses, such as M/s GT Enterprises, M/s Shivam Pharma, and M/s Harsh, were found closed.
Yet, according to accused Shubham Jaiswal, Bhola Prasad’s son, the medicines were recorded as sold to these firms between June and August.
93,750 Bottles Recovered Without a License in the Warehouse
From a warehouse located alongside the highway in Rohania, Varanasi, 93,750 bottles of codeine-laced cough syrup were recovered without a license. These had been hidden by the owner Mahesh Kumar Singh, associate Azad Jaiswal, and goods owner Shubham Jaiswal.
Azad admitted that the warehouse had no license or sales records. The batch numbers listed in the purchase bill submitted during the investigation (from RS Pharma, Ghaziabad, to Singh Medicos, Chandauli, on 1 August) did not match the stock that was recovered.
Now the question that arises is, if the purchase and sale of codeine cough syrup existed only on paper, where did the medicines actually go?
The transactions were indeed just on paper through fake firms, while in reality, the syrups were being stored in warehouses across districts such as Ghaziabad, Varanasi, Sonbhadra, Lucknow, and Lakhimpur Kheri, before being transported by trucks to Ranchi, Kolkata, and even Bangladesh.
DGP Rajiv Krishna stated that the investigation is ongoing based on the evidence collected so far. He added that there is also proof of shipments to Nepal and Bangladesh, and financial transactions are being verified through banking channels
Is Codeine a Banned Substance?
"Codeine-laced cough syrup is not a banned drug. It falls under Schedule H and should only be sold on a doctor's prescription. There is nothing wrong with legally possessing or selling it. The problem arises when large quantities are supplied without any supporting documents and proper purchase-sale records."Roshan Jacob, Commissioner of FSDA (Food Safety and Drug Administration)
According to FIRs registered in various police stations, the distribution and sale of codeine-laced cough syrup were being carried out for non-medical purposes, especially for intoxication.
All districts have confirmed that "There is no connection of this racket in Uttar Pradesh with any of the fatal cough syrup incidents that occurred in Madhya Pradesh".
12 Main Conspirators in the Codeine Cough Syrup Case
12 main conspirators have been named in this case. According to the SIT, Vibhor Rana, Saurabh Tyagi, Vishal Rana, Pappan Yadav, Shadab, Manohar Jaiswal, Abhishek Sharma, Vishal Upadhyay, Bhola Prasad, Shubham Jaiswal, Akash Pathak, and Vinod Agrawal have been accused of conspiring in the illegal distribution or sale of intoxicating cough syrup.
On 8 December, Director General of Police (DGP) Rajiv Krishna stated that the investigation has so far uncovered a network of key super stockists involved in illegal transactions of codeine-based syrup.
Five major super stockists have been identified, three of whom—Bhola Prasad from Varanasi, Vibhor Rana from Saharanpur, and Saurabh Tyagi from Ghaziabad—have already been arrested. Two others are still under investigation, with action pending.
Police noted that Bhola Prasad is the father of Shubham Jaiswal, a key accused who is believed to have fled to Dubai with his family.
In a video circulating online, Shubham Jaiswal allegedly denies any involvement and claims he has been wrongly framed. When asked about his alleged flight abroad, DGP Krishna said, 'We will attempt extradition if necessary.
Cough syrup issue resonated in Parliament, what is the connection with Dhananjay Singh?
"Before the SIT was formed, the UP Special Task Force had arrested nine individuals, including a dismissed police constable and Amit Kumar Singh, also known as Amit Tata.
After their arrests, photos of the two with former Jaunpur BSP MP Dhananjay Singh went viral on social media. However, the police clarified that no evidence has so far linked Dhananjay Singh to the case
The Samajwadi Party also raised this issue in Parliament. Akhilesh Yadav wrote on X: "Now that the fatal actions of the BJP members have been exposed, is the bulldozer lying unconscious after drinking cough syrup, or are the people operating it? Today, only this one racket involving ‘power and black marketeers’ has been exposed; who knows how many more will open up tomorrow".