Meanwhile, Deputy Chief Minister Brajesh Pathak, who holds the health portfolio, said in Jaunpur that strict action would be taken against the guilty irrespective of their social standing.

The DGP added that 279 medical stores were inspected, and many were found to be non-existent. Others had serious anomalies in sale and purchase records.

“It reflects that the firms were selling cough syrup in an organised manner as an intoxicant, not a medicine. The drug was being supplied from Lucknow, Lakhimpur, Bahraich, Varanasi, Ghaziabad and even Nepal to Bangladesh,” he said.

In a parallel crackdown, the SIT constituted by the Varanasi Police Commissionerate to probe the smuggling racket run by Shubham Jaiswal of Varanasi arrested two close associates of the kingpin. The racket was operated through his firm, Shelly Traders.

Shubham Jaiswal is believed to have fled to Dubai along with his associates Gaurav Jaiswal and Varun Singh on November 5. His father, Bhola Prasad Jaiswal, was arrested at Kolkata airport on November 30 while attempting to fly to Dubai.

The two accused arrested on Monday, Vishal Jaiswal and Badal Arya, revealed key details during interrogation. They allegedly earned large sums by setting up shell firms, receiving Rs 25,000–30,000 per consignment. The SIT also uncovered suspicious transactions worth Rs 425 crore linked to Shubham Jaiswal over the past two years.