Codeine cough syrup case: UP court issues notice to attach Rs 30 crore assets of accused
Sonbhadra: A local court has issued a notice to attach properties worth around Rs 30 crore acquired through illegal trafficking of codeine-laced cough syrup, marking a key breakthrough in the ongoing probe, police said on Friday.
Superintendent of Police Abhishek Verma said the Chief Judicial Magistrate’s court issued a notice against accused Bhola Prasad Jaiswal after examining a report submitted by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) under the newly enacted laws.
During the investigation, it emerged that the accused had used forged documents to obtain warehouse and drug licences for his firm, M/s Shaili Traders, based in Ranchi, Jharkhand, Verma told PTI.
Using these fake licences, Jaiswal allegedly set up multiple bogus firms in Jharkhand and several districts of Uttar Pradesh to show the supply of codeine-laced cough syrup, he added.
The SP said the accused indulged in organised crime and amassed huge illegal proceeds, which were used to purchase costly residential properties and vehicles, besides making large fixed deposits in various banks.
Preliminary investigation has revealed that Jaiswal acquired assets worth an estimated Rs 30 crore through the illicit cough syrup trade, Verma said.
He added that action to attach the identified properties has already begun, and a notice has been served on the accused.
Further properties will also be attached as and when they are traced during the ongoing probe, the SP said.
The action comes as Uttar Pradesh agencies conduct a wider probe into the alleged illegal trafficking, stocking and diversion of regulated codeine-laced cough syrup, suspected to involve illicit trade worth hundreds of crores of rupees with links extending beyond the state.
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, during the assembly session on Monday, had said that the cases related to the illegal diversion of syrup are being taken up under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act.
Adityanath had clarified that codeine-based syrup is not manufactured in Uttar Pradesh, and the state only has stockists and wholesalers. Production takes place in states like Himachal Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.
Read also: Cough syrup racket: Rs 38 crore assets of wanted accused under scanner
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