Lucknow: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has uncovered fresh leads in the cough syrup scandal, pointing to an organised money laundering operation involving the purchase and gifting of luxury vehicles bearing distinctive number series such as 9777 and 1111. The probe suggests that proceeds from the illegal trade in codeine-based cough syrup were routed through shell companies and used to acquire high-value cars to conceal the origin of funds.
According to officials familiar with the investigation, ED teams conducting searches in eastern Uttar Pradesh traced multiple luxury vehicle purchases to a Toyota showroom in Jaunpur. The agency has formally sought records of Fortuner and higher-end models sold over the past three years, with specific emphasis on vehicles registered under the two number series. Investigators believe these vehicles were either gifted or parked in the names of associates to avoid direct linkage with the main accused.
Preliminary scrutiny has brought an Ayodhya-based construction company under the scanner. The firm’s financial records and turnover have been described as inconsistent with its declared business activity. Officials suspect that funds were transferred to this company through intermediaries before being used to purchase luxury cars. One such vehicle is reported to have been sent to Maharashtra for bulletproof modification, further raising suspicion about the intent behind the purchase.
Sources said the ED is also verifying the end-users of vehicles linked to the 1111 series, including those allegedly used by key accused Shubham Jaiswal. Investigators are mapping ownership patterns, current possession, and payment trails to establish whether the cars were acquired as part of a larger laundering mechanism.
The agency believes that gifting high-end vehicles served a dual purpose: rewarding network members and converting illicit cash into assets with a veneer of legitimacy. If evidence confirms the use of shell companies and benami transactions, additional charges under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) may follow. Officials indicated that questioning of the construction company’s promoters is likely in the coming days. The ED has maintained that the investigation is ongoing and that further seizures and summons cannot be ruled out as the financial trail is pieced together.
Luxury assets under valuation
Investigators are assessing the value of luxury homes, interiors and high-end goods linked to the accused. Authorised valuers have been engaged to estimate costs, with a view to attachment of properties if they are proven to be acquired from proceeds of crime.
ED raids continue across multiple cities
The ED has conducted raids at 25 locations across Lucknow, Varanasi, Jaunpur, Saharanpur, Ahmedabad and Ranchi. Searches have yielded details of nearly 189 suspected shell firms allegedly used to project inflated turnovers and launder proceeds from the cough syrup trade.
