Prayagraj, Dec 19: The Allahabad High Court has dismissed petitions filed by 40 accused, including the alleged key conspirator Shubham Jayswal, seeking anticipatory bail and the quashing of an FIR in the codeine-laced cough syrup smuggling case.
The court’s refusal to grant relief clears the path for their potential arrest. The FIR was registered under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act.
The case, investigated by the Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force (STF), involves an alleged interstate smuggling network. According to the investigation, Shubham Jayswal, using a super stockist licence obtained in his father’s name from a company in Ranchi, Jharkhand, operated a supply chain.
The syrup was allegedly sourced from firms in Himachal Pradesh, stored in a godown in Ghaziabad, and then distributed using fake e-way bills to cities such as Agra, Lucknow and Varanasi.
From Varanasi, large consignments were purportedly routed through Sonbhadra to Jharkhand and West Bengal, with the contraband eventually reaching Bangladesh and Nepal.
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Two other arrested accused had earlier told the STF that they worked for associates named Vishal and Vibhor Rana, who had business dealings with Jayswal, further detailing the network’s reach.
