A three-member Special Investigation Team (SIT) led by an Inspector General–rank officer has officially taken charge of the widening probe into the illegal storage, sale, and trafficking of codeine-based cough syrups and other narcotic medicines in Uttar Pradesh.
The decision comes amid a sharp rise in such cases, with 128 FIRs already registered across 28 districts—pointing to what authorities believe is a highly organised and well-coordinated drug network operating across the state and beyond.
The SIT will be headed by Inspector General (Law & Order) LR Kumar, with Senior Superintendent of Police (STF) Ghule Sushil Chandrabhan and Akhilesh Kumar Jain, Assistant Commissioner (Headquarters) in the Food Safety and Drug Administration Department, serving as its two members.
The inclusion of officers from both policing and drug regulation wings underscores the multi-layered nature of the investigation.
A senior official said the SIT was constituted because the case spans several districts and involves multiple government departments, making it essential to centralise and streamline the investigative process.
The team’s mandate includes coordinating inter-agency efforts, improving enforcement efficiency, and ensuring that all legal aspects of the crackdown are executed effectively.
The SIT has been tasked with investigating illegal financial transactions connected to the trafficking of codeine-based syrups, tracking the diversion of these controlled medicines, and identifying inter-state supply chains.
A crucial part of the probe will also focus on money laundering operations linked to the drug network.
Authorities have further directed the team to pursue extradition proceedings against suspects who have absconded abroad in an attempt to evade arrest.
The investigation has been given strict timelines, with the SIT instructed to submit a comprehensive action-taken report to the state government within one month.
Officials have emphasised that the probe must be thorough, methodical, and concluded without unnecessary delay.
So far, police have seized nearly 3.5 lakh bottles of codeine syrup, valued at approximately ₹4.5 crore on the black market—a figure that highlights both the scale of the illegal trade and the seriousness with which the government is treating the case.
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