In early December, when the Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force (UP STF) arrested several men linked to the diversion of codeine-based cough syrup (CBCS), it thought it had cracked just another contraband racket. But the case has now burst open into one of the most politically explosive narcotics and smuggling investigations in recent memory, drawing in former MPs, dismissed policemen, shell companies and Dubai-based fugitives. There are reports that some members of the network have fled to Dubai. What is more striking is that the names of influential figures, such as strongman and former Jaunpur MP Dhananjay Singh, have surfaced, raising serious questions about the state of the Yogi Adityanath government during which the illegal trade and smuggling of toxic cough syrup has grown rapidly.
The racket allegedly diverted 89 lakh bottles of codeine syrup worth over ₹100 crore between 2023 and 2025. Investigations suggest that the network used shell companies, fake licenses and forged documents to procure large quantities of legally manufactured syrup in states such as Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Haryana. The syrups, which are Schedule H drugs requiring a prescription, were diverted for non-medical use as intoxicants. The syndicate exploited porous borders, using eastern UP districts as transit points to smuggle the product into Nepal and Bangladesh. FIRs have been filed against 128 establishments and their operators across 28 districts.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has now joined the probe, registering a money laundering case. According to available information, the key mastermind, Shubham Jaiswal, has reportedly fled to Dubai. A lookout notice has been issued and the ED has summoned him. The STF and ED have now expanded the widening probe, examining over 400 bank accounts, 210 shell companies and 312 operators allegedly part of the laundering and diversion ecosystem.
At the centre of the storm is a set of revelations made by former IPS officer Amitabh Thakur, who has written multiple letters to the UP Director General of Police, alleging that the illegal cough syrup network stretches far beyond a mere criminal racket and may involve the shadow of Dhananjay Singh.
According to Thakur, one of the prime accused, Amit Singh “Tata”, is not merely an associate of the absconding kingpin Shubham Jaiswal, but allegedly a “frontman” linked to Dhananjay Singh. Thakur points to photographs, videos and social associations between “Tata” and the former MP, suggesting that the connection is neither incidental nor harmless.
In a detailed letter dated November 23, 2025, Thakur informed the DGP that “Tata” from Jaunpur played a significant role behind Shubham Jaiswal, operating as an intermediary with political protection. He questioned how Jaiswal, along with associates Varun Singh and Gaurav Jaiswal, managed to flee to Dubai despite the “advanced intelligence and surveillance capabilities” of UP Police and the STF. Such coordinated overseas movement, he argued, was impossible without internal complicity.
Thakur also forwarded fresh information about a 10,000 sq ft house in Lucknow, allegedly built by dismissed constable Alok Pratap Singh using proceeds of the syrup racket. The house stands directly opposite that of former MP Dhananjay Singh, raising further questions about proximity and awareness. Additionally, Thakur flagged the alleged involvement of a Bihar government minister who was reportedly “paid regularly” by the network and personally intervened to ensure the release of a seized container of cough syrup. Dhananjay Singh has dismissed the allegations as a political vendetta: “Opponents are misleading journalists to tarnish the image of the honourable Prime Minister.”
Investigators say the operation masterminded by Varanasi-based Shubham Jaiswal ran like a sophisticated corporate entity. Fake companies, forged invoices, fabricated e-way bills and proxy wholesalers were used to procure massive quantities of CBCS from pharma manufacturers, particularly Abbott and other Delhi-NCR firms.
The money trail alone runs to an estimated ₹2,000 crore, according to ED officials. Purchases made from fake distributors such as “Shaily Traders” in Ranchi existed only on paper. The syrup, bought at around ₹10 per bottle in sham transactions, was diverted to high-profit smuggling corridors heading towards Bihar, Bengal and ultimately Bangladesh.
After the arrest of two key associates, Saurabh Tyagi in Ranchi and Vibhor Rana in Ghaziabad, Jaiswal’s family reportedly fled to Dubai. A lookout notice is now active and ED has summoned him. The sister of the kingpin has also been served a notice to appear for questioning.
The scale of complicity is staggering. Cases have been filed against 36 firms in UP alone—28 in Varanasi, 12 in Jaunpur, 8 in Kanpur, and 3 in Lucknow—under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, (NDPS) and other provisions. Shell companies were often registered using the same IP address. Multiple bank accounts were opened with identical addresses, suggesting coordinated laundering.
Amid the dramatic revelations, a more structural question has resurfaced: How did UP become the undisputed epicentre of India’s codeine syrup diversion economy?
An internal figure circulating within enforcement circles, supported by distributor invoices and field intelligence, is astonishing: Nearly 80 per cent of all codeine-based cough syrup produced in India is bought by traders in Uttar Pradesh.
There is no medical explanation. UP does not have 80 per cent of India’s respiratory illnesses. The state also does not have climatic or epidemiological factors requiring such disproportionate consumption. A retired CDSCO officer summed it up succinctly:
“This is a diversion. Pure and simple. And manufacturers know it.” This enormous, unjustifiable demand makes UP the beating heart of the Codeine Cartel. From here, the narcotic pipeline flows eastward—towards Bihar, Bengal, Assam, the Northeast and the lucrative backdoor markets of Bangladesh.
So how does it work? India’s opium is tightly regulated. Farmers in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan cultivate it under the supervision of the Central Bureau of Narcotics. Alkaloids are extracted at two government factories in Neemuch (MP) and Ghazipur (UP). But once purified codeine leaves these factories and enters the private pharmaceutical market, supervision collapses:
- No digital stock tracking
- Handwritten Schedule H1 registers that no one audits
- No barcode trail from factory to retailer
- Wholesale licences seldom scrutinised
- Chemists sell without prescriptions
- Manufacturers face no liability for diversion
It is this systemic vacuum that enables diversion on a national scale. The UP-Bihar-Bengal route is now the artery of South Asia’s largest illicit codeine flow. Bangladesh has emerged as the largest market. The neighbouring country banned codeine syrups years ago, but the ban only intensified the smuggling economy.
Graphic 1
CROSS-BORDER ROUTES: INDIA TO BANGLADESH
• Nadia → Kushtia, Meherpur
• Murshidabad → Rajshahi
• North 24 Parganas → Khulna, Jessore
• Assam (Karimganj / Dhubri) → Sylhet
Operational Flow
UP wholesalers dispatch truckloads disguised as FMCG cargo →
Border districts in Bengal break consignments →
Minors, women, fishermen, cyclists carry across →
One run earns more than two weeks of local wages
Graphic 2
ECONOMICS OF CODEINE SMUGGLING
Buy in India: ₹80–₹120
Sell in Bangladesh: ₹400–₹800
Profit Margin: 400%–900%
Grafic 3
REALITY CHECK
- Codeine crisis originates not in poppy fields, but in boardrooms, warehouses, regulatory file rooms, compromised security networks
- This is a double crisis: narcotics diversion + contaminated paediatric syrups
- When quality control collapses, toxic medicines enter hospitals across India via weak regulatory architecture, many times killing patients
- BSF and DRI seizures capture only a fraction
- Chronic oversupply keeps the pipeline running
Graphics 4
Why does the UP syndicate thrive
• Wholesalers operate with impunity
• Manufacturers prioritise revenue over red flags
• Regulators fail to audit
• Police allow fugitives to escape
• Politicians allegedly provide protection
• Shell companies launder profits at scale
(Akhilesh Akhil is a Delhi-based senior journalist)
