Major action taken against illegal trade of cough syrup containing codeine in Uttar Pradesh. 279 inspections, 128 FIRs registered, thousands of bottles recovered and many accused arrested. SIT has been formed to investigate and financial investigation of the smuggling network.
Lucknow. On the instructions of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, a large-scale campaign is being run against cough syrup containing codeine in Uttar Pradesh. The Food Safety and Drug Administration Department (FSDA) and UP Police are jointly conducting investigations, raids and action in the state. Principal Secretary (Home) Sanjay Prasad told in the press conference that the state government is working on the policy of zero tolerance on banned drugs. He said that it is mandatory for all medicines to conform to the standards and if they are out of standard, strict action will be taken. He also clarified that no death has been reported due to cough syrup containing codeine. The government has formed a SIT headed by the Inspector General of Police, which also includes FSDA officials, to investigate this entire matter.
Case filed against 128 medicine shops in ‘Drug Free Uttar Pradesh’ campaign
DGP Rajiv Krishna said that under the ‘Drug Free India-Drug Free Uttar Pradesh’ campaign, action was taken in many districts in the last two months. FIR has been registered against 128 medicine shops in 28 districts. In a joint operation of FSDA, district police and UP STF, a large quantity of illegal codeine cough syrup was recovered. He said that action is also being taken against spreading falsehood or confusion on social media. An FIR has been registered for spreading such rumors in Varanasi.
Network of codeine syrup smuggling and illegal sale exposed
FSDA had received important inputs from the Central Narcotics Bureau (Madhya Pradesh). On the basis of this, two manufacturing units of Himachal Pradesh, three of Uttarakhand, one manufacturing unit of Haryana and one super stockist of Ranchi, Jharkhand were investigated. Investigation revealed that codeine syrup was being sold in large quantities without prescription and without license in districts like Lucknow, Kanpur, Varanasi and Ghaziabad. Many shops had sold 1 to 3 lakh bottles illegally. The strings of this syrup were found connected to Nepal and Bangladesh.
Investigation of 279 establishments, sale of intoxicant in many places
FSDA Secretary Roshan Jacob said that 279 establishments were inspected during the campaign. At many places it was confirmed that codeine syrup was not being sold as a medicine but as an intoxicant. Highest illegal sales were found in Varanasi, Ghaziabad and surrounding areas. Continuous action will be taken against illegal storage, fake stock and illegal sale.
128 FIRs, arrests continue in many districts
A total of 128 FIRs were registered in the joint operation of the Drug Department and Police, which included action under the NDPS Act.
Varanasi – 38 FIR
Aligarh – 16 FIR
Kanpur – 08 FIR
Ghaziabad – 06 FIR
Maharajganj – 04 FIR
Lucknow – 04 FIR
Other districts – 52 FIRs
UP STF action: Many networks destroyed
UP STF has arrested 9 accused. Dharmendra Vishwakarma, Pawan Gupta, Shailendra Arya, Vibhor Rana, Vishal Singh, Bittu Kumar, Sachin Kumar, Amit Kumar Singh alias Amit Tata, and Alok Pratap Singh.
Cases and arrests registered in other zones
Lucknow Zone – 11 cases, 2 arrests
Bareilly Zone – 4 cases, 2 arrests
Gorakhpur Zone – 10 cases, 3 arrests, notice to 2
Varanasi Commissionerate – 2 cases, 4 arrests
Huge quantity of codeine syrup recovered in Sonbhadra and Ghaziabad
October 18: Sonbhadra Police recovered 1,19,675 bottles from two trucks, 3 smugglers arrested.
November 1: 13,400 bottles seized in Ranchi.
November 4: Sonbhadra-Ghaziabad police recovered 1,57,350 bottles in a joint operation.
8 accused were arrested. A total of 17 accused have been named in this case.
SIT will review financial investigation and action
Considering the seriousness of the entire matter, a SIT is being formed at the state level for detailed financial investigation. This team will monitor all investigations, connect the accused and investigate financial transactions in depth. Information Director Vishal Singh and other officials were also present in the press conference.
FIR for making false allegations on social media
An FIR has been registered against Amitabh Thakur, Nutan Thakur and others on the complaint of plaintiff Ambrish Kumar Singh in Varanasi. He is accused of tarnishing his image by making false allegations through social media. This FIR has been registered under sections 196, 229, 356(2), 356(3) BNS. Police have warned that strict action will be taken against those spreading rumors or fact-free posts.