Codeine syndicate: STF arrests kingpin’s close aide

Varanasi: Amit Yadav, a key associate of Shubham Jaiswal, the mastermind behind a massive codeine cough syrup smuggling operation, was arrested by the Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force (STF) in Harahua, Varanasi, on Saturday evening.Yadav, a former state general secretary of Samajwadi Yuvajan Sabha and students' union leader, went into hiding after Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath presented photos linking him to the Samajwadi Party during the Vidhan Sabha session in Dec 2025. Yadav's photos with the SP chief are viral on social media.
A team of UP STF's Lucknow unit, led by inspectors Anjani Kumar Pandey and Aditya Singh, arrested Yadav from Kashi Dwar in the Harahua area. Following initial interrogation at the Varanasi unit of STF at the police lines, he was taken to Lucknow for necessary action in connection with the case lodged against him at Sushant Golf City police station.Yadav's role in codeine cough syrup smuggling came to light during the interrogation of previously arrested accused, including Vibhor Rana, Vishal Singh, Amit Kumar Singh alias Tata, and Alok Kumar Singh.Yadav told STF that he was appointed the state secretary of Samajwadi Yuvajan Sabha after winning the students' union election at Harishchandra Postgraduate College. It was during the college elections that he crossed paths with the codeine syrup-smuggling kingpin. After that, he joined the syndicate and started business with Shaili Traders, the firm of Shubham's father Bhola Jaiswal.Yadav revealed that he started procuring 1 lakh bottles of codeine syrup worth Rs 1 crore through his firm, GL Surgical, to sell to the syndicate at a higher price for smuggling to Bangladesh via West Bengal, lured by the huge profit margins. STF's investigation is ongoing.STF mentioned that four cases were lodged at Adampur and Kotwali police stations in Varanasi, and one at Sushant Golf City police station in Lucknow.