Kotwali police and the Special Investigation Team (SIT) arrested five people involved in the Codeine Syrup Smuggling case on Bharsar Link Road, Mirzapur Bypass, in Varanasi on Sunday. Three of the suspects had a bounty of ₹25,000 each.
The arrested individuals are Amit Jaiswal, 25, Divesh Jaiswal, 26, and Ankush Singh, 35. All three are from Varanasi and each has a ₹25,000 bounty. The other two suspects are Abhinav Kumar Yadav, 25, and Ghanshyam Maurya, 26, according to a police officer.
5 arrested in Codeine Syrup Smuggling case
Vijay Kumar Singh, the assistant commissioner of police for Kotwali, said, “During questioning, the suspects disclosed that they started smuggling codeine cough syrup at the request of the gang’s leader, Shubham Jaiswal.”
“They obtained large shipments of codeine cough syrup using fake GST invoices and e-way bills from Shaili Traders in Ranchi, Jharkhand. The syrup was then distributed through medical firms in various states for recreational drug use instead of for medical purposes,” he added.
Suspects carry 40 crore illegal business
The suspects also mentioned that gang members met at Shubham Jaiswal’s office in KBN Plaza to organize the operation. There, they discussed how to deposit money in banks and how to make cash payments to the firms, the officer explained.
“The suspects admitted they had smuggled about 25 lakh bottles so far. They conducted illegal business worth ₹40 crore through hawala (illegal money transfer), from which they earned a direct profit of around ₹8 crore,” Singh added.
They also said that their shipments seized in West Bengal, Bihar, and Tripura. After these incidents, they used forged e-way bills to respond, the ACP noted.
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