Bhola Prasad, owner of Jharkhand-based Shaili Traders and father of alleged codeine-cough-syrup syndicate mastermind Shubham Jaiswal, has been arrested in the second major breakthrough in the nationwide crackdown on the illegal trade of the restricted drug. Prasad was detained by Sonbhadra police at Kolkata airport while attempting to board a flight to Thailand, with further travel reportedly planned to Singapore — a development officials say strongly suggests he was trying to evade investigation. He is being brought to Sonbhadra on transit remand and will be lodged in jail after formalities at the Robertsganj police station.
His arrest follows the earlier detention of Amit Singh Tata, another key operative linked to the narcotics trafficking network believed to have transported massive quantities of codeine-based cough syrup across state borders and into neighbouring countries. Investigators say the syndicate was primarily run by Prasad’s son, Shubham Jaiswal, who allegedly controlled distribution operations using Shaili Traders — the firm registered under his father’s name.
The racket reportedly sourced the cough syrup from a Himachal Pradesh-based manufacturer before moving it to warehouses in Ghaziabad and Varanasi, and then redirecting it to Jharkhand, Bihar, West Bengal, Bangladesh, and Nepal. Shaili Traders allegedly acted as a super-stockist in the supply chain, purchasing in bulk and handling large-scale redistribution. Raids conducted in October uncovered nearly 12,000 bottles of codeine syrup hidden among assorted goods, exposing what investigators now describe as a sophisticated interstate and cross-border operation built on fake firms, forged invoices, and fabricated documents designed to bypass pharmaceutical surveillance.
So far, six firms linked to the network have been found to exist only on paper, with fake contact addresses and no business premises. FIRs against Bhola Prasad have been registered in four districts — including Sonbhadra, Varanasi, and Jaunpur — while the investigation footprint has now widened to at least ten districts. Police say Shubham Jaiswal and a close associate named Asif have fled to Dubai, and more high-profile arrests are expected.
The crackdown has intensified since 24 children in Madhya Pradesh died after consuming toxic cough syrup, prompting nationwide raids and meetings between central and state regulators to tighten pharmaceutical oversight.
The case has also taken a political turn. Uttar Pradesh Congress chief Ajay Rai alleged that the drug racket “involves the entire BJP,” claiming senior ministers and government officials are implicated and being protected. He demanded that the probe be taken away from the police and STF and handed over to a sitting High Court judge for judicial inquiry. Officials, meanwhile, say arrests will continue as the investigation deepens and more evidence is analysed.
