Lucknow: The Enforcement Directorate has intensified its investigation into the illegal codeine-based cough syrup trade and is now focusing on identifying who financed a transaction worth nearly ₹100 crore
linked to the racket, officials said.
Suspicious Abbott Pharmaceuticals deal raises questions on money routing
The payment is suspected to be connected to prime accused Shubham Jaiswal, who allegedly procured a massive consignment of cough syrup from Delhi-based Abbott Pharmaceuticals. The stock was later returned by Saharanpur-based Vibhore Rana after it failed to find buyers, raising questions over the source and routing of funds used for the deal.
According to sources, ED officials are examining whether the money was arranged through benami channels or with the backing of a mafia syndicate. The agency has discreetly begun scrutiny of properties and bank accounts linked to suspected mafia operatives. A luxury residential property, estimated to be valued at over ₹50 crore, has also come under the scanner.
The agency is simultaneously analysing more than 70 bank accounts linked to Jaiswal and his close relatives to trace the money trail allegedly generated from the trafficking of narcotic cough syrup. Some of these accounts had earlier been frozen due to suspicious transactions. ED officials are now seeking detailed transaction histories from banks.
Irregularities found in Shaili Traders, political links emerge
Investigators have also flagged irregularities in the records of Shaili Traders, a firm run by Jaiswal’s father Bhola Jaiswal. The drug licence and GST registration of the firm reportedly carry mobile numbers linked to Milind Yadav, brother of Ravi Yadav, national secretary of the Samajwadi Party’s Lohia Vahini. Milind Yadav, a resident of Varanasi, is accused of working in collusion with the firm in the illegal trade and is said to be associated with the SP.
As per information shared by the Income Tax Department, Jaiswal, a ₹25,000 rewardee and proprietor of Ranchi-based Shaili Traders and Varanasi-based New Vriddhi Pharma, deposited nearly ₹7 crore as income tax over the past two financial years. GST payments were made separately and are being verified.
The ED has also examined the role of Varanasi-based chartered accountant Vishnu Agrawal, who audited 140 firms, including two firms linked to Jaiswal. Through these two firms, Jaiswal paid around ₹2.50 crore in income tax in 2023–24 and about ₹4.50 crore in 2024–25. Documents related to these transactions have been recovered.
Multiple high-value properties traced across eastern UP
The probe has led to the identification of several high-value properties allegedly purchased in the names of Jaiswal, his father and other relatives in Mirzapur, Babatpur Airport Road, Mahmoorganj and near Ganjari Stadium. Firms and bank accounts linked to relatives are also under scrutiny.
In a further twist, the ED has initiated an investigation into the assets of a former assistant commissioner of the drug department, who allegedly mentored Jaiswal in large-scale procurement and sale of codeine-based cough syrup and facilitated the registration of Shaili Traders in Ranchi. The STF has also placed the former official under surveillance. The officer, last posted in Basti, is currently absconding. Investigators suspect that his nexus with an office-bearer of the Saptasagar Drug Market Committee helped expand the illegal trade to West Bengal and Bangladesh.
