Cough Syrup Mafia: Odisha’s Bolangir Police has busted the biggest ‘cough syrup racket’ under its ‘Mission Cough Syrup’ campaign. Police have arrested 35 suspected members of the racket. Police said bottles of ‘Ascuf’ cough syrup worth Rs 35 lakh have been seized from the arrested suspects.
According to the police, Sana Negi and Prashant Kheti were identified as the two key players of the racket. Bolangir police said that under ‘Mission Cough Syrup’, they busted an interstate organized racket on Sunday. The Bolangir police is said to have busted the biggest racket ever.
Odisha police busted a racket involved in illegal procurement, transportation & selling of cough syrup in Bolangir &neighbouring districts. Police arrested 35 cough syrup mafia members’ syrup bottles worth Rs 35 lakh: Balangir SP, Nitin Kushalkar pic.twitter.com/Siy7ebu8C3
— ANI (@ANI) March 13, 2023
These items including pistol were recovered from the suspects
Balangir SP Nitin Kushalkar said that on the basis of local and technical intelligence inputs and evidence gathered during investigation, the racket involved in illegal procurement, transportation and sale of Askuf syrup has been busted. During the operation, the police also seized a country-made pistol, a vehicle, two pick-up vans, a vehicle, two motorcycles, Rs 7,500 in cash, 17 mobile phones, gold ornaments and other items, he said.
The SP said that an amount of Rs 2 crore belonging to the supplier company, M/s Daffodil Drugs Pvt Ltd, Kolkata, had also been frozen. Nitin Kushalkar told that the modus operandi of the cough syrup mafia is to collect and distribute them during the night time, especially at 3 am, 4 am and 5 am. He told that the police had to work day and night to bust the racket as they were working in the dark. He informed that Prashant Kheti has been arrested and Sana Negi will be nabbed soon.
