Lucknow: The Directorate of Enforcement’s (ED) Lucknow Zonal Office has carried out extensive search operations under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, in connection with an alleged illegal trade and diversion of codeine-based cough syrup, the agency said in a statement Sunday.
The searches were conducted December 12 and 13 at 25 locations, including residential and office premises of the accused and their associates, spread across Lucknow, Varanasi, Jaunpur and Saharanpur in Uttar Pradesh, as well as Ranchi and Ahmedabad.
The ED initiated the probe on the basis of 30 FIRs registered by the Uttar Pradesh Police under relevant provisions of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, the Indian Penal Code (IPC), and other applicable laws.
According to the FIRs, a well-organised and multi-layered criminal syndicate was operating to illegally procure, store, divert and sell codeine-based cough syrups in blatant violation of statutory and regulatory controls.
The accused allegedly acted through a network of entities to procure large quantities of the controlled drug formulation and then floated multiple firms, fraudulently obtained licences, and fabricated records to divert the stock for non-medical and narcotic purposes.
The investigation has revealed that the illegally diverted cough syrup was trafficked across states and smuggled to neighbouring countries, including Nepal and Bangladesh, through clandestine supply chains.
The ED further alleged that substantial proceeds generated from the illicit trade were routed through bank accounts of front entities and subsequently layered through multiple financial transactions to conceal the origin of the funds before being funnelled into accounts controlled by the accused persons.
Search operations carried out under Section 17 of the PMLA, 2002, at the residential and business premises of the accused resulted in the recovery and seizure of various incriminating documents, records, and other material relevant to the money laundering investigation.
Further investigation is underway.
