Sonbhadra Police have arrested another accused in the massive Rs1,000 crore codeine cough syrup siphoning racket, allegedly linked to smuggling operations in neighbouring countries, including Bangladesh.
Superintendent of Police Abhishek Verma said on Wednesday that a joint team of Sonbhadra Police, the Special Investigation Team (SIT), and the Special Operations Group (SOG) arrested Satyam Kumar, a resident of Varanasi. The accused had rented a house on Barkara Kamrahi Road in the Robertsganj area and fraudulently obtained a drug licence using a fake experience certificate and affidavit in the name of Maa Kripa Medical.
During the investigation, police found that no firm by the name Maa Kripa Medical existed at the given address, despite records showing the purchase of codeine cough syrup worth Rs6 crore from Shelly Traders in Ranchi, Jharkhand. The firm is owned by Bhola Prasad, father of alleged syndicate kingpin Shubham Jaiswal.
Police further revealed that Satyam’s firm showed sales to several non-existent entities — Ayush Enterprises, Sanaya Medical, and Dileep Medical — purportedly located at Nai Bazar in Bhadohi. These firms were found to be fake, with no physical presence at their listed addresses. Despite this, nearly ₹6 crore was transferred from these accounts to Shelly Traders without any actual transportation of cough syrup bottles.
During interrogation, Satyam disclosed that his cousin Ravi Gupta, a resident of Nai Bazar, Bhadohi, had set up Maa Kripa Medical in Satyam’s name, while another firm, Shiviksha Pharma, was registered in the name of Ravi’s brother Vijay Gupta. Both firms operated from rented shops in Barkara and secured drug licences from the Sonbhadra drug inspector’s office in January 2024.
Investigators also found that Shiviksha Pharma showed purchases worth another Rs6 crore from Shelly Traders, with supplies again falsely recorded to the same fake firms in Bhadohi. Satyam told police he received a commission of Rs1 per bottle for facilitating the paper transactions.
To legitimize the operation, e-way bills were generated through Maa Kamakhya Air Cargo Transport in Nichibagh, Varanasi, and copies were sent to the drug inspector’s office in Sonbhadra via courier, despite no physical movement of the consignments.
Police said further arrests are likely as the investigation into the interstate and cross-border drug smuggling network continues.
