Cough syrup case: ED raids expose lavish Lucknow home of ex-constable

From ornate European-style interiors and spiral staircases to vintage lighting and a trove of luxury items, the Enforcement Directorate's raid on the Lucknow home of a dismissed police constable arrested in the codeine-laced cough syrup case has left officials stunned.

The Special Task Force of Uttar Pradesh Police arrested constable Alok Pratap Singh, who has been dismissed from service twice, on December 2.

His name cropped up during the interrogation of another accused, Amit Kumar Singh alias Amit Tata, in the ongoing probe into an illegal codeine-laced cough syrup racket. He is currently lodged in Lucknow jail.

The two-storey mansion sprawls over nearly 7,000 square feet in Ahmamau near the Lucknow-Sultanpur highway. Towering pillars line the facade, ornate railings adorn the wide balconies, and inside, cream-painted walls with decorative accents set off the high-end fittings.

 

Luxury items seized during the ED raid on Friday include handbags of Prada and Gucci, premium Rado watches, and several electronic devices, officials said.

A senior police officer privy to the investigation told PTI on Saturday, Preliminary assessments suggest that Rs 1.5-2 crore was spent solely on interiors, while the construction of the house alone may have cost around Rs 5 crore, excluding the land. A government-approved valuer has been appointed to determine the full investment and any illicit funds involved.

Police allege that Singh was part of a network running wholesale cough syrup units in Uttar Pradesh and Jharkhand, and that he mentored young men from Chandauli, Ghazipur, Jaunpur, and Varanasi, while leveraging connections in police and political circles.

Originally from Chandauli, Singh's career in the police force was turbulent. After he was first arrested in 2006 in a case involving 4 kg of looted gold, Singh was dismissed from service but was reinstated after his acquittal.

Fresh allegations led to his second dismissal in 2019, after which he reportedly turned to business ventures, cultivating connections that allegedly facilitated his role in the syrup network.

The case forms part of a wider probe into a syndicate dealing in codeine-laced medicines, which are legally sold only on prescription.

The prime accused, Shubham Jaiswal, is believed to have fled to Dubai, while his father, Bhola Jaiswal, has been taken into custody.

The Uttar Pradesh government set up an SIT to probe the illegal storage and distribution of codeine-based cough syrups across the state.

The SIT, headed by an IG-rank officer and including Food and Drug Safety Authority (FDSA) officials, has been tasked with examining financial transactions, tracing the diversion of medicines, and connecting all leads emerging from the accused persons, Principal Secretary (Home), Sanjay Prasad, said earlier.

The government clarified that no casualties have been reported in the state due to the codeine-laced syrups.

DGP Rajeev Krishna said earlier that the investigation has so far exposed a network of major "super-stockists" allegedly involved in diverting highly-regulated codeine-laced medicines.

Three of the five key super-stockists' Bhola Jaiswal from Varanasi, Vibhor Rana from Saharanpur, and Saurabh Tyagi from Ghaziabad have been arrested, and action is underway against two other accused.

So far, around 3.5 lakh bottles of cough syrup, valued at approximately Rs 4.5 crore, have been seized, and 32 people associated with the illegal trade have been taken into custody.

The probe also revealed evidence of consignments being trafficked across the India-Nepal and India-Bangladesh borders.

Authorities are verifying financial transactions and money trails linked to the network, with the ED involved in parallel investigations.

FDSA Commissioner Roshan Jacob earlier said that while the syrups fall under Schedule H and are legal if sold on a prescription, violations occur when large quantities are supplied without documentation, often facilitating their abuse as intoxicants.

FIRs have been lodged against 128 establishments across 28 districts under relevant sections of the BNS and the NDPS Act.