ED raids continue for second day in Rs 1,000-crore codeine cough syrup trafficking case

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) continued its crackdown for the second consecutive day on Saturday in connection with a massive codeine-based cough syrup trafficking racket estimated to be worth over Rs 1,000 crore.

The search operations, which began early Friday morning, are being conducted across 25 locations in Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, and Gujarat.

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In Varanasi, ED teams remained engaged in an extensive financial audit linked to the alleged kingpin, Shubham Jaiswal.

On Saturday, a team from the Lucknow zonal office reached the residential office of his chartered accountant, Vishnu Agrawal, located in Annapurna Nagar Colony. The premises were sealed during the search, with security personnel deployed outside, and no entry allowed. Officials questioned staff members and scrutinised bills and financial records one by one.

According to sources, investigators are focusing on purchase and sale records related to high-value luxury items allegedly recovered from Shubham Jaiswal’s residence during earlier searches. The ED team had concluded a late-night audit at his house in Badshah Bagh Colony on Friday, where items linked to an extravagant lifestyle were reportedly found.

Meanwhile, a purported video of Shubham Jaiswal from a hotel in Dubai surfaced on social media on Saturday. In the video, he is allegedly seen speaking on the phone, with claims that he was seeking updates from associates about the ongoing ED action. The authenticity of the video has not been officially confirmed.

The searches were conducted nine days after the registration of an ECIR (Enforcement Case Information Report) against 67 accused. ED officials stated that the raids have yielded crucial financial and digital evidence, shedding light on the scale of the network and its multi-state supply chain.

Documents and digital data seized during simultaneous searches at 25 locations include alleged payment entries, fake billing records, interstate transport permits, and suspicious transactions involving multiple companies. Investigators believe the racket has been operating for nearly five years, using fake pharmaceutical firms to divert and distribute codeine-based cough syrup across different states.

Sources within the agency said the investigation has revealed that the illegal trade was not limited to medical diversion alone. Instead, the cough syrup was allegedly dispatched on a large scale under the guise of legitimate “pharma supplies” through shell companies. Evidence recovered from Ahmedabad and Surat points to the use of industrial hubs in Gujarat as part of the supply chain.

Several names and firms mentioned in seized documents and Excel sheets were not previously listed in any FIR or police records. The ED has begun background checks on these newly identified suspects and is expected to bring them under the ambit of the investigation soon.

Preliminary findings indicate that proceeds from the illegal sale of cough syrup were laundered through fake billing and hawala networks to project the income as legitimate. Many companies existed only on paper, generating interstate e-way bills to facilitate the movement of goods. The ED has initiated a forensic audit of bank accounts linked to these firms, involving transactions worth several crores of rupees.

Following the searches, the ED is preparing to question individuals whose homes, offices and warehouses were raided. Summonses are likely to be issued soon, and the agency has also begun identifying properties allegedly acquired using proceeds of crime from the cough syrup racket.