In a major crackdown, the Uttar Pradesh Food Safety and Drug Administration (FSDA) has unearthed one of the largest pharmaceutical diversion scams in the state's history. The illegal parallel supply chain, worth a staggering ₹704 crore, was routing codeine-based cough syrups exclusively for intoxication and substance abuse, completely bypassing legitimate therapeutic use.
The Statewide Crackdown and Shocking Numbers
The massive racket came to light after a rigorous two-month statewide drive. This campaign was launched on the direct orders of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath to curb the illegal storage, sale, distribution, and diversion of medicines classified as narcotics. The operation spanned 52 districts, with inspections conducted at more than 332 wholesale drug establishments.
FSDA investigations revealed shocking supply volumes for the 2024-25 period that far exceeded any conceivable medical need. The data showed an astonishing 22.39 crore bottles of Phensedyl (worth ₹506 crore), 73.16 lakh bottles of Eskof (₹154.38 crore), and 24.87 lakh bottles of other codeine-based brands (₹43.77 crore) were supplied within Uttar Pradesh.
A Paper Trail to Nowhere: The Parallel Supply Chain
A critical finding was that these cough syrups never reached retail pharmacies or actual patients. Instead, they were funneled through a select network of super-stockists and a chain of wholesale firms that largely existed only on paper. Officials discovered that many of these firms were non-functional at their registered addresses, lacking storage facilities, actual stock, or any verifiable records of onward supply.
The FSDA concluded these entities served merely as "billing points" to camouflage the illegal diversion. The probe uncovered a parallel supply chain that completely bypassed the standard manufacturer–distributor–retailer–patient route. The syrups moved from manufacturers to super-distributors and a web of wholesalers, after which the trail for legitimate medical distribution vanished. This clearly established the syrups were diverted solely for narcotic intoxication.
Legal Action and Regulatory Reforms
Given that codeine phosphate—an opium-derived substance—is the active ingredient in these syrups and is highly prone to abuse, the FSDA brought the entire operation under the purview of the stringent Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985.
First Information Reports (FIRs) were registered against 161 firms across 36 districts under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, and the NDPS Act, 1985. This marks one of the largest crackdowns on drug diversion in Uttar Pradesh. Key diversion hubs were identified in Varanasi, Saharanpur, Ghaziabad-Delhi, Kanpur, and Lucknow.
FSDA Secretary and Commissioner, Roshan Jacob, termed the issue a systemic regulatory failure rather than isolated wrongdoing. She stated that proposals for long-term reforms have been sent to the state government and will be escalated to the Centre. These proposals include:
- Geo-tagging of wholesale premises.
- Mandatory verification of storage capacity.
- Stricter scrutiny of experience certificates used for obtaining wholesale licences.
- Volume caps on the manufacturing and distribution of codeine-based products.
Jacob emphasized that the core problem was a parallel distribution channel created immediately after manufacturing, which bypassed authorized depots. The wholesale licences of all the implicated firms have been cancelled. "This cannot be fixed at the wholesale level alone. It requires intervention at the manufacturing and national regulatory level," she said, adding that recommendations were forwarded to Union health authorities.
In a move indicating internal accountability, show-cause notices were also issued to department officers for laxity, including six drug inspectors and three additional commissioners. These will be converted to departmental proceedings as per the concerned minister's decision.
No Contamination Scare in UP
In a related but separate assurance, the FSDA clarified that no incidents linked to diethylene glycol (DEG) or ethylene glycol (EG) contamination—like those reported from some other states—occurred in Uttar Pradesh. As a precaution, 1,017 cough syrup samples were lifted from manufacturers, government hospitals, and retailers across the state. Laboratory tests confirmed that none contained DEG or EG impurities.
The crackdown underscores a significant breach in the pharmaceutical supply chain and highlights the urgent need for robust regulatory mechanisms to prevent such large-scale diversion of medicinal products for abuse.
