UP: Judicial custody of codeine syrup racket accused extended

Lucknow, Dec 9 (PTI) A court here on Tuesday extended the judicial custody of two accused — dismissed constable Alok Singh and Amit Tamta — in the multi-crore codeine-based cough syrup trafficking case and remanded them to jail till December 22, a lawyer said.

The accused were produced before the court of the Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) amid tight security. Following news of their production, a large number of lawyers assembled at the court premises and raised slogans against the accused, prompting the deployment of additional police personnel.

The accused were not allowed to alight from the prison van until adequate security arrangements were put in place. They were later presented before the court under heavy police protection.

The prosecution told the court that in the multi-crore cough syrup racket, the Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force (STF) arrested Amit Kumar Singh alias Amit Tamta on November 27 on charges of trafficking codeine-based narcotic cough syrup. Two mobile phones, a Fortuner vehicle and an Aadhaar card were recovered from his possession, it said.

According to the prosecution, Tamta, in collusion with a syndicate, is accused of distributing codeine-based cough syrup worth around Rs 100 crore across Lucknow and several other parts of the country.

Subsequently, the STF on December 2 arrested dismissed constable Alok Singh, a key accused in the racket, and produced him before the court.

After hearing the matter, the court extended the judicial custody of both the accused and sent them to jail till December 22. PTI COR KIS AMJ AMJ