NCB Raids 25 Locations Across Three States, Targets ₹1,000-Crore Codeine Syndicate

Narcotics Control Bureau’s Lucknow Zonal Unit on Thursday unleashed simultaneous raids across 25 locations in Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, and Jharkhand, dismantling a Rs 1,000 crore empire built on the illegal diversion and smuggling of highly addictive codeine-based cough syrups. The operation, which commenced at precisely 7:30 am, covered major cities including Lucknow, Varanasi, Jaunpur, Saharanpur, Ranchi, and Ahmedabad, with over 150 officers executing search warrants under stringent security.

Central to the raids were the residential and commercial premises of the alleged mastermind Shubham Jaiswal, his close confidants Alok Singh and Amit Singh, and several pharmaceutical manufacturing units accused of systematically falsifying records to divert bulk medicinal stock into the grey and black markets. Additionally, the office and residence of chartered accountant Vishnu Aggarwal were thoroughly searched for evidence of money laundering, hawala transactions, and layered financial trails designed to conceal the astronomical illicit profits.

The Enforcement Case Information Report stems from more than 30 separate FIRs registered across Uttar Pradesh in the last two months alone, revealing an intricately woven network engaged in illegal stocking, interstate transportation, domestic peddling, and large-scale cross-border smuggling of pharmaceutical opioids. Official estimates now place the total proceeds of crime well beyond Rs 1,000 crore, highlighting the industrial-scale exploitation of legitimate pharmaceutical supply chains for narcotic trafficking.

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While 32 members of the syndicate have already been arrested and Jaiswal’s father, Bhola Prasad, remains in judicial custody, the principal accused Shubham Jaiswal continues to evade capture and is widely believed to be sheltering in Dubai. Sources indicate that diplomatic channels have been activated for his extradition, even as the Uttar Pradesh government has constituted a high-powered Special Investigation Team to ensure seamless coordination between state police, central enforcement agencies, and international authorities.

The unprecedented multi-state crackdown signals an aggressive new phase in India’s war against pharmaceutical drug abuse, particularly the rampant misuse of codeine-based formulations as recreational intoxicants among youth. Authorities have declared that manufacturers, distributors, chemists, and financial enablers found complicit will face the full might of the law, with asset seizures and lifetime imprisonment as likely consequences for those at the helm of this dangerous narcotic empire.

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