Lucknow: The Uttar Pradesh government has announced the formation of a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to dismantle the illegal network of narcotic drugs, including codeine-based cough syrups, across the state. The announcement was made by IAS, Principal Secretary to Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Sanjay Prasad and Director General of Police Rajeev Krishna during a press conference.
The DGP stated that the state has prioritized a crackdown on drug abuse and black-market trading of substances like codeine syrup. Recent operations by various agencies have already led to the exposure of extensive illegal networks.
During the special drive, the UP Special Task Force (STF) arrested nine individuals, including Dharmendra Kumar Vishwakarma, Pawan Gupta, Lekhpal Anand, Vishal Rana, Vishal Singh, Jitendra Kumar, Sajeev Kumar, Amit Kumar Singh, and Amit Tata, for evidence of involvement in the illegal supply and diversion of controlled drugs.
Zonal Actions and Arrests
Under zonal operations, 11 cases were registered in Lucknow with the arrest of Rupesh Rai and Pawan Rastogi. In Bareilly, four cases led to the arrests of Atul Kumar and Rakesh Rastogi. Gorakhpur recorded 10 cases with the arrest of Neeraj Kumar Dixit, Ali Sher Mehrab, and Mohammad Aftab. In Varanasi, two cases were registered, resulting in the arrest of Atri Ram, Vishal Jaiswal, Babar Ahmed, and Azad Singh.
Dr. Roshan Jacob, Commissioner of Food and Drug Administration, clarified that no deaths have occurred from codeine syrup in UP. He added that FSDA, UP Police, and STF are taking action against illegal storage and unlicensed possession of drugs. So far, 279 individuals have been identified, 128 cases registered across 28 districts, and multiple smugglers, distributors, and suppliers have been arrested.
Major Seizures
Police in Sonbhadra seized two trucks filled with codeine syrup totaling 1,19,675 bottles, arresting three accused: Hemlat Pal, Braj Mohan Shivhare, and Ramgopal Dhakad. Another 13,400 bottles were seized from Ranchi, Jharkhand. Joint operations by Ghaziabad and Sonbhadra police recovered 1,57,350 bottles and arrested eight more individuals, including Sohan Tyagi, Shadab, Shekhar alias Bem, Salim Khiri, Anas Malik, Jitendra Singh, Deepak Kumar, and Sushil Yadav.
Drug Trafficking Routes and Illegal Practices
DGP Krishna highlighted that the restricted drugs may have entered UP through Nepal and Bangladesh. Certain trafficking routes were detected in Ghaziabad and Varanasi. Investigations revealed that several medical stores, distributors, and wholesalers illegally purchased and sold codeine syrup in large quantities without real patient needs, often using fake prescriptions and irregular records.
Dr. Roshan Jacob confirmed that several operators have had their licenses suspended or canceled, and evidence of irregular codeine syrup transactions spanning one to three years has been documented. The SIT is expected to intensify investigations to completely dismantle this illegal network in Uttar Pradesh.
