5 months ago
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From ornate European-style interiors and spiral staircases to vintage lighting and a trove of luxury items, the Enforcement Directorate's (ED) raid connected the Lucknow location of a dismissed constabulary constable arrested successful the codeine-laced cough syrup case has near officials stunned.
The Special Task Force of the Uttar Pradesh Police arrested Constable Alok Pratap Singh, who had been dismissed from work twice, connected December 2, 2025.
His sanction cropped up during the interrogation of different accused, Amit Kumar Singh alias Amit Tata, successful the ongoing probe into an amerciable codeine-laced cough syrup racket. He is presently lodged successful Lucknow jail.
The two-storey mansion sprawls implicit astir 7,000 quadrate feet successful Ahmamau adjacent the Lucknow-Sultanpur highway. Towering pillars enactment the facade, ornate railings adorn the wide balconies, and inside, cream-painted walls with decorative accents acceptable disconnected the high-end fittings.
Luxury items seized during the ED raid connected Friday (December 14, 2025) see handbags of Prada and Gucci, premium Rado watches, and respective physics devices, officials said.
A elder constabulary serviceman privy to the probe told PTI on Saturday (December 14, 2025), “Preliminary assessments suggest that ₹1.5-2 crore was spent solely connected interiors, portion the operation of the location unsocial whitethorn person outgo astir ₹5 crore, excluding the land. A government-approved valuer has been appointed to find the afloat concern and immoderate illicit funds involved.
Police allege that Singh was portion of a web moving wholesale cough syrup units successful Uttar Pradesh and Jharkhand, and that helium mentored young men from Chandauli, Ghazipur, Jaunpur, and Varanasi, portion leveraging connections successful constabulary and governmental circles.
Originally from Chandauli, Singh's vocation successful the constabulary unit was turbulent. After helium was archetypal arrested successful 2006 successful a lawsuit involving 4 kg of looted gold, Singh was dismissed from work but was reinstated aft his acquittal.
Fresh allegations led to his 2nd dismissal successful 2019, aft which helium reportedly turned to concern ventures, cultivating connections that allegedly facilitated his relation successful the syrup network.
The lawsuit forms portion of a wider probe into a syndicate dealing successful codeine-laced medicines, which are legally sold lone connected prescription. The premier accused, Shubham Jaiswal, is believed to person fled to Dubai, portion his father, Bhola Jaiswal, has been taken into custody.
The Uttar Pradesh Government acceptable up an SIT to probe the amerciable retention and organisation of codeine-based cough syrups crossed the State.
“The SIT, headed by an IG-rank serviceman and including officials from the Food and Drug Safety Authority (FDSA), has been tasked with examining fiscal transactions, tracing the diversion of medicines, and connecting each leads emerging from the accused persons,” said Principal Secretary (Home), Sanjay Prasad, earlier.
The authorities clarified that nary casualties person been reported successful the State owed to the codeine-laced syrups. DGP Rajeev Krishna said earlier that the probe has truthful acold exposed a web of large "super-stockists" allegedly progressive successful diverting highly-regulated codeine-laced medicines.
Three of the 5 cardinal ‘super-stockists' — Bhola Jaiswal from Varanasi, Vibhor Rana from Saharanpur, and Saurabh Tyagi from Ghaziabad — person been arrested, and enactment is underway against 2 different accused.
So far, astir 3.5 lakh bottles of cough syrup, valued astatine astir ₹4.5 crore, person been seized, and 32 radical associated with the amerciable commercialized person been taken into custody.
The probe besides revealed grounds of consignments being trafficked crossed the India-Nepal and India-Bangladesh borders. Authorities are verifying fiscal transactions and wealth trails linked to the network, with the ED progressive successful parallel investigations.
FDSA Commissioner Roshan Jacob earlier said that portion the syrups autumn nether Schedule H and are ineligible if sold connected a prescription, violations hap erstwhile ample quantities are supplied without documentation, often facilitating their maltreatment arsenic intoxicants.
FIRs person been lodged against 128 establishments crossed 28 districts under applicable Sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita,(BNS) and the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985,( NDPS) Act.
