In continuation of its sustained efforts to curb drug trafficking and dismantle narcotics supply networks, the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) has seized huge quantities of Codeine-based cough syrup bottles in two separate operations conducted in Tripura and West Bengal under the provisions of the NDPS Act, 1985.

On 02.07.26, the officers of DRI intercepted a consignment being transported in the parcel van of a train bound for Agartala. The contraband was found ingeniously concealed inside 80 metallic drums beneath a layer of powdery substance used as cover cargo. A total of 55,626 bottles of Codeine-based cough syrup were recovered and seized. The operation was carried out with the assistance of the Railway Protection Force (RPF) and Assam Rifles. One person, who had arrived to take delivery of the consignment was arrested.  

Around same period, in another operation, DRI officers searched a warehouse at Dankuni, West Bengal, where 56,225 bottles of Codeine-based cough syrup were recovered from 104 sealed iron drums. The bottles had been concealed beneath a layer of china clay powder inside the drums to evade detection. The entire quantity was seized under the relevant provisions of the NDPS Act, 1985.

Overall, the two operations resulted in seizure of around 1.11 lakhs of Codeine-based cough syrup bottles and arrest of 1 person.

Codeine, a derivative of opium, has legitimate therapeutic use in regulated pharmaceutical preparations. However, Codeine-based cough syrups are often targeted by drug trafficking networks owing to their abuse potential when diverted for illicit consumption.

These seizures highlight the continued attempts by organised smuggling syndicates to divert pharmaceutical preparations containing narcotic substances for illicit trafficking through innovative concealment methods. Through coordinated intelligence-driven operations, DRI remains committed to dismantling such networks.

Codeine-based cough syrup seizures expose concealment methods used in narcotics trafficking networks under the NDPS Act. Large quantities of codeine-based cough syrup were intercepted and seized in coordinated anti-smuggling operations in Tripura and West Bengal under the NDPS Act, 1985. The consignments were concealed inside metallic and iron drums beneath cover cargo, including powdery substance and china clay powder, to evade detection during transport and storage. The operations involved recovery from a train parcel van and a warehouse, with one person arrested after arriving to take delivery of the consignment.