Varanasi police arrested five individuals for allegedly running an illegal codeine-laced cough syrup trafficking racket using fake pharmaceutical companies.
According to ADCP Neetu Katyayan, two separate cases were registered at Rohania and Sarnath police stations, both showing similar methods. The arrested accused are:
Rohania case: Swapnil Kesari, Dinesh Yadav, Ashish Yadav
Sarnath case: Vishnu Pandey, Lokesh Agarwal
The suspects reportedly created shell companies with forged documents, obtained GST numbers, and drug licenses. Investigations revealed that these firms existed only on paper and were used to generate fake invoices and route large financial transactions.
The Rohania companies — Al Uqba, SB Pharma, and Singh Medicos — were involved in fraudulent transactions worth approximately Rs13 crore. Two Sarnath-based firms siphoned off about Rs10 crore. The cough syrup was smuggled to Bihar, West Bengal, and Bangladesh at inflated prices, with money routed back to Varanasi via hawala channels.
Police investigations linked the entire network to kingpin Shubham Jaiswal, who carries a Rs50,000 reward and a look-out notice. A Special Investigation Team (SIT) traced assets worth Rs38 crore belonging to Jaiswal and his family, and the court has issued notices seeking property details.
Authorities are examining medicine diversion, financial transactions, and cross-border trafficking links to Nepal and Bangladesh. The state government has registered 79 cases, named 225 accused, and arrested 78 people, while raids have been conducted at 134 firms.
The crackdown highlights police action against the illegal storage and distribution of highly regulated codeine-based medicines.
