1,275 bottles of codeine-based cough syrup seized, 1 arrested

Bahraich: Security personnel seized 1,275 bottles of codeine-based cough syrup suspected to have been smuggled into Nepal and arrested a 23-year-old man after intercepting an car in Uttar Pradesh’s Bahraich district, an official said on Wednesday. The consignment was seized near the Kewalpur underpass in the Rupaidiha area on Tuesday evening during a joint operation by the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) and UP Police, SSB 42nd Battalion Commandant Girish Chandra Pandey told PTI. The accused, identified as Fazle Ilahi alias Nihal, allegedly tried to flee but was apprehended by the personnel, Pandey said.

The seized consignment comprised 1,275 bottles, each containing 100 ml of syrup, packed in 10 cartons. The bottles did not bear the manufacturer’s name, and the driver failed to produce the required documents for the consignment, Pandey said. During questioning, the accused allegedly told investigators that he was supposed to hand over the consignment to an unidentified person for onward transportation to Nepal.

In another incident, a 56-year-old farmer was electrocuted on Wednesday morning after coming in contact with an electric pole in a village under the Dokati police station area in Ballia district, police said.