E-Paper
UP STF nabs 2 in Lucknow in expanding codeine syrup smuggling probe
The arrests add to the ongoing probe into a network that allegedly pushed prescription drugs to traffickers across several states before consignments were smuggled into Bangladesh.
The Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force (STF) on Thursday arrested two more accused in Lucknow, allegedly linked to an inter-state racket involved in diverting codeine-based cough syrup using shell firms. Officers said the duo handled documentation, online transactions and paperwork for bogus pharmaceutical outfits, including one created in the name of an accused.
The arrests add to the ongoing probe into a network that allegedly pushed prescription drugs to traffickers across several states before consignments were smuggled into Bangladesh.
Abhishek Sharma and Shubham Sharma, residents of Kapil Vihar in Saharanpur, were detained near Tedhi Pulia trisection on the Alambagh-Mawaiya Road in Lucknow early on Thursday. The STF seized two mobile phones and 31 documents tied to fake firms that allegedly enabled the drug diversion, according to the press note.
Investigators said both men played key roles under Saharanpur-based operators Vishal Singh and Vibhor Rana, arrested earlier on November 12, 2025. Abhishek Sharma allegedly worked with GR Trading since 2019, the firm run by the two operators. The network procured Phensedyl from major pharmaceutical companies and routed consignments through dozens of fake firms before allegedly pushing them into trafficking channels via Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal.
The STF press note stated that a chartered accountant, Arun Singhal, allegedly floated multiple bogus entities including Sachin Medicos, Maruti Medicos, Balaji Sanjeevani, AV Pharmaceuticals and others, to generate fake purchase and sale documents and e-way bills.
STF officials said the network kept operating despite seizures in West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh between 2021 and 2024 by frequently shifting firms and licences. Abhishek Sharma allegedly handled documentation, online payments and operations of Maruti Medicos and AV Pharmaceuticals. He admitted to preparing false authorisation letters and signing documents under assumed identities.
Shubham Sharma, who earlier worked in Dubai, reportedly joined the racket through his brother. A bogus firm named Shri Balaji Sanjeevani was created in his name, and he allegedly received around ₹1 lakh per month for the use of his identity. He also accompanied Vibhor Rana during supply movements and coordinated logistics.
During interrogation, both allegedly named two West Bengal-based associates involved in the final leg of smuggling across the Indo-Bangladesh border. Their identities are being verified.
The duo has been booked under IPC sections related to cheating, forgery, criminal conspiracy and destruction of evidence, along with NDPS Act provisions. They are already named in an FIR registered in 2024 at Sushant Golf City police station. The STF said further arrests are likely as the financial and interstate links of the network are traced.
