UP: FIR against pharmacy owner in Azamgrah amid crackdown on illicit cough syrup trade

Azamgarh (UP), Dec 4 (PTI) Authorities here have registered an FIR against a medical store owner for the illicit trade of regulated cough syrup, officials said on Thursday.

The action comes amid a crackdown on smuggling and sale of highly restricted codeine-based cough syrups in Uttar Pradesh, while the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has launched a money laundering probe into a wider interstate and cross-border racket involved in illicit manufacture and distribution of such syrups, officials said.

In Azamgarh, an FIR was lodged against one Bipendra Singh at Didarganj police station based on the complaint of Drug Inspector Seema Verma on Wednesday.

Singh, who operates AS Pharma in Bangaon area under the Martinganj police station, allegedly purchased around 2.5 lakh bottles of codeine-based cough syrup from four firms in Azamgarh, Basti and Jaunpur districts.

In the complaint, Verma said, during an inspection on November 28, the shop was found locked. The landlord told officials that the premises had been vacated a year ago.

Multiple attempts to contact Singh through phone, WhatsApp and email failed, and he did not furnish any sales, purchase, GST, or account records. This raised suspicion of misuse of the controlled drug, she said.

Azamgarh Rural Superintendent of Police Chirag Jain said a case has been registered and the accused will be questioned soon.

Notably, the ED has registered an Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) based on a probe by the UP Police special task force into an interstate syndicate involved in the illegal manufacture, storage and trafficking of codeine-based cough syrup brands, including Phensedyl, the agency said.

According to officials, the racket is allegedly involved in supplying these syrups not only across Uttar Pradesh, but also to Uttarakhand, Bihar, Jharkhand, Assam, West Bengal and Bangladesh, where Phensedyl is widely abused as an intoxicant.

The Border Security Force (BSF) routinely seizes large consignments being smuggled across the international border, they added.

The ED has summoned prime accused Shubham Jaiswal to appear before investigators in Lucknow on December 8, though officials suspect he may have fled the country. His father, Bhola Prasad Jaiswal, was arrested by the UP Police from Kolkata airport while allegedly trying to escape.

The UP Police had earlier seized over 1.19 lakh bottles of banned cough syrup worth around Rs 3.5 crore from two container trucks in Sonbhadra district on October 18.

Further, 13,400 bottles of the contraband were seized following raids in Jharkhand.

Police claimed bogus bills of around Rs 25 crore were generated through fake entities like "Shaili Traders, Ranchi".

In another related action, a Bareilly-based medical supply firm -- Extreme Health Solutions -- has been booked for illegal sale of narcotic medicines after its proprietor, Rahul Sabharwal, allegedly failed to provide purchase and sale records for 62,687 bottles of Rexley-T codeine syrup worth Rs 96.67 lakh, the Food Safety and Drug Administration (FSDA) said.

Officials suspect several traders in Bareilly are engaged in large-scale illegal trade of such medicines. PTI COR CDN ARB ARB ARB