The arrest of a twice-dismissed police constable in Uttar Pradesh’s Lucknow has thrown fresh light on a Rs 1,000-crore codeine-based cough syrup racket, with investigators uncovering assets that far exceed a public servant’s known sources of income.
Alok Pratap Singh, a former constable dismissed from the Uttar Pradesh Police, was arrested by the Special Task Force (STF) on December 2 in connection with the ongoing probe. Officials said the arrest followed leads obtained during the interrogation of another accused, Amit Kumar Singh alias Amit Tata. Singh is currently lodged in Lucknow jail.
Luxury assets seized
During searches linked to the arrest, officials seized high-value personal belongings, including handbags from luxury brands such as Prada and Gucci and Rado watches, PTI reported.
Investigators also inspected Singh’s 7,000-sq-ft residence, which features European-style interiors, spiral staircases and vintage-style lighting, details now being examined as part of a disproportionate assets trail.
What the cough syrup racket is about
The racket centres on the illegal diversion and sale of codeine-based cough syrups (CBCS), which are prescription medicines but are widely abused as intoxicants.
According to the STF, the syndicate allegedly laundered around Rs 1,000 crore through the manufacture, wholesale distribution and smuggling of these syrups. So far, about 3.5 lakh bottles, valued at roughly Rs 4.5 crore, have been seized, and 32 people have been arrested in the case.
Singh’s alleged role in the network
Police officials allege that Singh was not a peripheral player but an active part of the supply chain. He is accused of running wholesale cough syrup units in Uttar Pradesh and Jharkhand, from where consignments were allegedly routed to other states and trafficked across borders into Bangladesh and Nepal.
Investigators further claim that Singh mentored young men from Chandauli, Ghazipur, Jaunpur and Varanasi, using his knowledge of policing systems and contacts in political and law enforcement circles to facilitate the racket’s operations.
A controversial police career
Singh, a resident of Chandauli, has a long record of brushes with the law. In 2006, he was arrested in a case involving 4 kg of looted gold and dismissed from service. He was later reinstated after acquittal.
In 2019, fresh allegations led to his second dismissal. Police say that after leaving the force, Singh shifted to business activities and built networks that later allegedly fed into the cough syrup syndicate.
The pattern mirrors a recurring challenge for enforcement agencies: former or serving officials leveraging institutional knowledge to enable organised crime.
Who else has been arrested
The prime accused, Shubham Jaiswal, is believed to have fled to Dubai. His father, Bhola Jaiswal, has been arrested.
Among five identified “super-stockists”, three, Bhola Jaiswal (Varanasi), Vibhor Rana (Saharanpur) and Saurabh Tyagi (Ghaziabad) — are in custody. Police said action is underway against the remaining two accused.
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