ED uncovers multi-billion dollar 'cough syrup empire': 700 shell firms, links to Dubai exposed

Lucknow/New Delhi (The Uttam Hindu): The Enforcement Directorate's (ED) marathon raids in Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat and Jharkhand, lasting more than 40 hours, have exposed the truth of the 'black money' of the illegal trade of narcotic cough syrup, which has stunned even the investigating agencies. The investigation has revealed that these drug dealers had created a network of more than 700 firms in the name of 220 operators to evade the law. Billions of rupees of black money was made through these fake firms. The most shocking revelation is that most of these companies were running only on paper and the authorized persons shown in them were also limited to documents only.

According to ED sources, this is the first time the investigating agency has encountered organized fraud of this scale in Uttar Pradesh. The manner in which documents were tampered with at every step has exposed the entire system. The investigation has also revealed that several officials of the Phensidyl syrup manufacturing company were aware of this illegal activity, but remained silent. STF ASP Lal Pratap Singh had already hinted in his previous investigation that several officials of a pharmaceutical company would also be under investigation. Now, based on the solid evidence gathered by the ED, action will soon be initiated to seize the properties of the accused.

The mastermind of this entire syndicate is said to be Shubham Jaiswal, who operates the entire network from Dubai. The investigation is revealing the dark deeds of Shubham, Alok Singh, a close associate of a former MP, and Amit Tata. It's worth noting that when the UP Special Task Force (STF) arrested Amit and Alok, the accused appeared fearless and had no fear of the law. However, as soon as the ED entered the scene and raided their hideouts and began examining financial documents, panic erupted within the accused's ranks.

During its financial investigation, the ED found evidence of significant suspicious transactions in the bank accounts of Shubham Jaiswal and his father, Bhola Prasad Jaiswal, who are hiding in Dubai. Many transactions remain unsolved. Evidence of money transfers between firms in Ranchi and Dhanbad has also been found. The ED is now seeking data on these firms from the GST department, which is expected to further expand the scope of the investigation. It is believed that the names of many more white-collar individuals and fake firms associated with this syndicate may be revealed in the coming days.