ED conducts raids across multiple States in U.P. cough syrup case

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday, December 12, 2025, raided multiple places in various states as part of a money laundering investigation against the alleged illegal trade of cough syrup in Uttar Pradesh, officials said.

It was stated that the searches covered 25 facilities in Lucknow, Varanasi, Jaunpur and Saharanpur in Uttar Pradesh, as well as Ranchi and Ahmedabad.

The federal investigation agency has filed a criminal case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) to probe the alleged illegal dealing.

According to ED officials, places linked to absconding main accused Shubham Jaiswal and his alleged associates Alok Singh, Amit Singh and others, cough syrup manufacturers and Chartered Accountant (CA) Vishnu Aggarwal are being raided.

The ED action is based on nearly 30 UP Police FIRs registered after the State government took notice of incidents related to misuse of codeine-based cough syrups (CBCS), their illegal production, trade and transportation, including across the Bangladesh border.

ED officials said the total estimated proceeds of crime in the case is around Rs 1,000 crore.

While the prime accused Shubham Jaiswal was understood to have fled to Dubai, UP Police arrested his father. A total of 32 people have been detained so far by the State police, which has constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the case, officials said.