The Enforcement Directorate (ED) widened its probe into the UP cough syrup scandal on Friday (December 12). The agency began coordinated raids at 25 locations linked to the syndicate. The searches took place in Lucknow, Varanasi, Ahmedabad, Jaunpur, Saharanpur, and Ranchi. Additionally, ED teams also raided the premises of key accused Alok Singh in Lucknow.
Earlier Arrests Exposed the Network
Earlier, the illegal trade came to light after the arrest of Deepak Manwani on October 11. He was caught from Krishna Nagar, Lucknow, with a large quantity of codeine-based syrup, tablets, capsules, and injections. During interrogation, Deepak revealed that he bought the drugs from two associates, Suraj Mishra and Preetam Singh. However, another accused, Arush Saxena, is still absconding.
Police Arrest Two More Accused
Meanwhile, the Krishna Nagar police arrested Suraj and Preetam on Thursday (December 10). They were caught near Baikunth Dham VIP Road. Suraj Mishra is originally from Sitapur and runs a medicine agency named New Mangalam Ayurvedic. Preetam Singh, who is a native of Bahraich, works at a family restaurant in Purania. Both were supplying the codeine syrup for illegal sale.
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Huge Stock Recovered in Initial Raid
During the October raid, the joint team of the police and drug department seized a massive stock of codeine syrup and other NDPS-category medicines from Deepak’s house. The recovery indicated large-scale diversion of prescription drugs into the illegal market. The case later exposed a wider network that operated across several districts.
Statewide Crackdown Expands
The ongoing action against the illegal drug trade has now covered 52 districts of UP. Moreover, the Food Safety and Drug Administration (FSDA) found hundreds of fake firms used only for billing purposes. In the past two months, FIRs have been filed against 133 firms in 31 districts.
Yogi Government Tightens Action
Under CM Yogi’s instructions, the FSDA has intensified the crackdown. FSDA Commissioner Dr Roshan Jacob said that cases have been filed under the NDPS Act and Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. Furthermore, district magistrates have been asked to initiate action under the Gangster Act.
Illegal Supply Routed to Nepal and Bangladesh
Investigations revealed that 133 firms were involved in the organised diversion of these medicines for non-medical use. The drugs were being smuggled into Nepal through Lucknow, Kanpur, Lakhimpur Kheri, and Bahraich. Similarly, they were pushed into Bangladesh via Varanasi and Ghaziabad.
Districts with High Irregularities
The highest number of violations were reported from Varanasi, Jaunpur, Kanpur Nagar, Ghazipur, Lakhimpur Kheri, Lucknow, Bahraich, Bijnor, Prayagraj, Pratapgarh, Sitapur, Sonbhadra, Balrampur, Rae Bareli, Sant Kabir Nagar, Hardoi, Bhadohi, Amethi, Shravasti, Siddharthnagar, Unnao, Basti, Ambedkar Nagar, Azamgarh, Saharanpur, Bareilly, Sultanpur, Chandauli, Mirzapur, Banda, and Kaushambi.
Crackdown Continues
As the network’s scale becomes clearer, both ED and UP Police are likely to make more arrests. The state government has signalled zero tolerance, and action against the syndicate is expected to intensify further.
