Bhola Prasad Jaiswal, alleged mastermind of a large cough syrup racket, was arrested at Kolkata airport and brought to Sonbhadra on transit remand
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The alleged kingpin of cough-syrup racket, Bhola Prasad Jaiswal, who was arrested from Kolkata airport, has been brought back here on a transit remand on Wednesday, a senior official said.
Superintendent of Police (SP) Abhishek Verma presented the accused before the media and said, "Jaiswal, father of the drug mafia, was detained at Kolkata airport on Sunday, while he was reportedly attempting to flee abroad."
Police had earlier seized 1,19,675 bottles of banned cough syrup from two container trucks on October 18, valued at around Rs 3.5 crore, the SP said.
In related actions, 13,400 bottles were recovered in Jharkhand, and during a joint operation with Ghaziabad police on the night of November 3, contraband syrup worth Rs 3.4 crore and Rs 20 lakh in cash were also seized.
Verma said the investigation has revealed that Jaiswal was running a large-scale illegal trade through fake billing in the name of Shaili Traders, Ranchi.
A SIT probe uncovered Rs 25 crore worth of bogus transactions across several districts, including Bhadohi, Chandauli, Varanasi and Sonbhadra, with many firms found non-existent.
A case was registered on November 29 by Drug Inspector Rajesh Maurya at Robertsganj police station, alleging that local firms Maa Kripa Medical and Shivaksha Private Limited had diverted 7,53,000 bottles of Phensedyl to the black market between April 2024 and August 2025, leading to Jaiswal's arrest.
During interrogation, Jaiswal claimed innocence, saying that although the firm was registered in his name, operations and financial dealings were handled by his son, Shubham Jaiswal.
He told police that the trade was operated from a warehouse in Jharkhand and transactions were supervised by chartered accountant Vishnu Agrawal.
The SP said the SIT will separately question the CA and seek Jaiswal's remand for further interrogation, adding that police from other districts will also question him.
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