Cough Syrup Row: UP Court Issues Notice To Attach Rs 30 Crore Assets Of Kingpin's Father

Sonbhadra: A local court in Uttar Pradesh's Sonbhadra recently issued a notice for the attachment of properties worth around Rs 30 crore that has been allegedly acquired through illegal trafficking of codeine-based cough syrups.

According to Superintendent of Police Abhishek Verma, the Chief Judicial Magistrate's court issued the notice against accused Bhola Prasad Jaiswal. The action comes after a report submitted by a Special Investigation Team (SIT) under provisions of the newly enacted laws.

The investigation pointed out that Jaiswal had used forged documents to obtain warehouse and drug licences for the firm, M/s Shaili Traders, in Ranchi.

Reports indicate that Jaiswal allegedly set up multiple bogus firms in Jharkhand and several districts of Uttar Pradesh using these fake licences to show the supply of codeine-laced cough syrup.

The SP stated that Jaiswal indulged in organised crime and amassed huge illegal proceeds. This was used to purchase residential properties and vehicles, as well as in making large fixed deposits in various banks.

Verma shared that the police have already started attaching the identified properties, and have served a notice to the accused. Further properties will also be attached whenever they are traced, the SP said.

The latest court order comes as several agencies in Uttar Pradesh are conducting a wider probe into the alleged illegal trafficking of codeine-laced cough syrup, which may have involved large-scale trade along with links with other states.

On December 10, the Varanasi Police had conducted a major crackdown on the illegal trade of banned codeine-based cough syrup, seizing around 30,000 bottles from a godown in the city, with an estimated value of approximately Rs 60 lakh.

“The Varanasi Commissioner is continuously taking action against codeine-containing cough syrup. There is a godown here where this cough syrup is kept in huge quantities. Around 30,000 bottles of codeine-containing cough syrup have been seized, whose estimated value is around Rs 60,00,000. The land of this illegal godown is in the name of Manoj Kumar Yadav, a close associate of Shubham Jaiswal. 2 suspects have been arrested at the spot,” Saravanan Thangamani, DCP Crime, Varanasi told ANI. 

The prime accused in the cough syrup smuggling case in Varanasi, Shubham Jaiswal, who faces cases in Varanasi and Ghaziabad, has sought quashing of the FIR and a stay on his arrest.

An FIR under the NDPS Act was registered on November 15 at Varanasi's Kotwali police station, naming Shubham, his father Bhola Prasad Jaiswal and 28 others in connection with the trafficking of banned codeine-laced cough syrup.

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