Shahjahanpur:
Uttar Pradesh Finance and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Suresh Kumar Khanna on Tuesday said that 75 people have been arrested so far in connection with the illegal trafficking of codeine-based cough syrup. Addressing the media in Shahjahanpur, the minister levelled serious allegations against the Samajwadi Party, claiming that links between the arrested smugglers and the party had come to light.

Khanna said Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has a clear policy to make Uttar Pradesh drug-free, in line with the national resolve to eradicate narcotics. He described the case as extremely serious and said large-scale action was initiated immediately after the matter came to the government’s notice.

The minister informed that a Special Investigation Team (SIT) has been constituted to probe the entire episode. The committee, headed by Inspector L. Kumar, also includes officials from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). He asserted that anyone found involved in narcotics trafficking in any form would face strict action, and such action would continue in the future as well.

Khanna said action has been taken against 140 firms so far. These operations were carried out across several districts, including Varanasi, Jaunpur, Kanpur Nagar, Ghazipur, Lakhimpur Kheri, Lucknow, Bahraich, Bijnor, Prayagraj, Pratapgarh, Sitapur, Balrampur, Sant Kabir Nagar, Hardoi, Bhadohi, Amethi, Shravasti, Siddharthnagar, Unnao, Ambedkar Nagar, Azamgarh, Saharanpur, Bareilly, Sultanpur, Chandauli, Rae Bareli, Mirzapur, Banda, Kaushambi, Barabanki and Gorakhpur.

Providing district-wise details, he said action was taken against 39 firms in Varanasi, 16 in Jaunpur, nine in Kanpur Nagar, four in Ghazipur and five in Lucknow. Cough syrup worth ₹9.42 crore has been seized so far, and 12.65 lakh bottles have been recovered.

The minister added that investigations revealed that the individuals involved in the supply chain were operating despite their drug licences having already been cancelled. He clarified that codeine-based cough syrup is meant to be sold only on medical prescription to patients suffering from severe cough, but it was being illegally trafficked to Bangladesh and Nepal.

Khanna reiterated that 75 arrests have been made in the case so far and that the crackdown is ongoing.