Codeine-based cough syrup selling for Rs 1000 a bottle in parts of MP

Bhopal: In parts of Madhya Pradesh's Vindhya region, codeine-based cough syrups are now costlier than branded liquor, with black market prices nearing ‘Rs 1,000 a bottle' following an intense police crackdown.Under ‘Operation Prahaar', launched on the directions of IG (Rewa range) Gaurav Rajput, police across the division registered 705 NDPS cases between Jan 1, 2025, and March 31, 2026, arresting 1,142 accused and seizing over 75,000 bottles of banned codeine-based cough syrup, along with 2,773 kg ganja, over 4 lakh intoxicant tablets/capsules, opium, heroin and other narcotics worth more than Rs 5.38 crore. "We will not stop till we free this pious land of Vindhya from the menace of cough syrup addiction. Now, it is not readily available in markets. And we have eradicated it by more than 80%, but the crackdown will continue till there is a full stop," Rajput told TOI. Of the total, cough syrups and intoxicant tablets/capsules alone constitute nearly one-third of overall seizure value as these are worth Rs 1.71 crore. The scale of seizure exposed a deeply entrenched network where prescription medicines were being diverted for abuse. With supply chains choked, enforcement agencies say the illegal trade has taken a hit, reflected in soaring street prices and changing consumption patterns. "The condition is such that even now on an average every month we get around 10 patients who are addicted to the banned cough syrup. However, now due to the strict measures by police, a lot of addicts are shifting to other narcotics. It is heard that due to the pressure the cost of syrup has increased to as much as Rs 1,000 per bottle in the black market," said Shivakant Awasthi, a psychologist associated with a de-addiction centre in Rewa for nearly a decade. "The addiction of banned cough syrups is so dangerous that in my nearly 10 years of career I have not seen any patient aged above 35 years. This means that people who become addicts cannot survive longer. Normally it starts as an experiment and hobby and then becomes an addiction. An addict consumes 3-4 bottles of syrup a day," he added.