Kingpin among 13 chargesheeted in codeine smuggling case, court summons accused on May 6

Varanasi: Sonbhadra Police on Thursday filed four chargesheets of 4,124 pages against 13 accused, including ringleader Shubham Jaiswal in the codeine cough syrup smuggling case.

The Special Judge, NDPS Act, has taken cognizance and begun hearings. SP Abhishek Verma said summons have been issued to all accused, directing them to appear in the court on May 6.

According to Circle Officer (City) Randhir Mishra, a Special Investigation Team constituted by the Superintendent of Police, Sonbhadra, carried out a detailed investigation into cases registered at Kotwali Robertsganj. Chargesheets have been filed against 13 persons: Hemant Pal, Brijmohan Shivhare, Ramgopal Dhakar and Sushil Yadav of Madhya Pradesh; Saurabh Tyagi, Sadab and Santosh Bhadana of Ghaziabad; Shivakant alias Shiv of Kanpur; Abhishek Sharma and Vishal Upadhyay of Saharanpur; Shubham Jaiswal and Dinesh Kumar Yadav of Varanasi; and Swapnil Keshari of Chandauli.

The case dates back to Oct 18, 2025, when police seized 1,19,675 bottles of banned cough syrup from two containers during checking near Eco Point in Robertsganj. The probe revealed an organised smuggling network with operatives across several states handling supply and transport.

Police also arrested father-son duo Vinod and Sanskar Verma, who supplied the syrup for one of the containers. However, the investigation into which firm loaded the syrup in the second container is still ongoing. Shubham is reported to be hiding in Dubai, and efforts are being made to bring him back to India.

Police said 12 of the 13 accused have been arrested. Chargesheet against Shubham Jaiswal was filed after initiating property attachment proceedings, as he is absconding abroad. The next hearing is on May 6, when all accused are to appear.
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