An alleged “critical linkman” in the interstate and international codeine-based cough syrup trafficking chain has remained untraceable even as the Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force (STF) has intensified its crackdown on the syndicate.
The key figure, Vikas Singh ‘Narve’, has been repeatedly mentioned during interrogation by every major accused, including Jaunpur resident Amit Kumar Singh alias Amit ‘Tata’, dismissed constable Alok Pratap Singh, resident of Chandauli, and Bhola Prasad Jaiswal, the father of the fugitive kingpin Shubham Jaiswal, according to people privy to the investigation.
Officials describe him as the “organisational glue” holding multiple nodes of the nexus together. The STF maintains that efforts are underway to trace him. Both Amit Singh Tata and Alok Pratap Singh disclosed during questioning that their link to Shubham Jaiswal was established through Vikas Singh ‘Narve’, a resident of Narve village in Azamgarh, according to STF sources. The same name surfaced again when investigators questioned the family of Shubham Jaiswal, whose codeine diversion operations through a Ranchi-based firm allegedly supplied large quantities of controlled cough syrup formulations across Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Bengal, Nepal, and Bangladesh. Despite these e corroborations, the STF has reportedly failed to locate Vikas Singh, raising questions about whether he has gone underground.
“Vikas Singh is believed to be a key operational conduit, responsible for connecting suppliers in UP and Jharkhand with Shubham Jaiswal’s network, introducing traffickers to one another, including Amit Singh Tata and Alok Pratap Singh, facilitating procurement chains for diverted pharmaceutical stock and acting as an intermediary between financiers and transporters,” a senior STF official privy to the investigation said. Several arrests have already been made, including Shubham’s father Bhola Prasad from Kolkata airport while allegedly attempting to flee abroad. The absence of Vikas Singh is now emerging as the most significant missing piece in the STF’s effort to dismantle the nexus.
{{/usCountry}}“Vikas Singh is believed to be a key operational conduit, responsible for connecting suppliers in UP and Jharkhand with Shubham Jaiswal’s network, introducing traffickers to one another, including Amit Singh Tata and Alok Pratap Singh, facilitating procurement chains for diverted pharmaceutical stock and acting as an intermediary between financiers and transporters,” a senior STF official privy to the investigation said. Several arrests have already been made, including Shubham’s father Bhola Prasad from Kolkata airport while allegedly attempting to flee abroad. The absence of Vikas Singh is now emerging as the most significant missing piece in the STF’s effort to dismantle the nexus.
{{/usCountry}}For now, he is the most enigmatic figure amid Uttar Pradesh’s crackdown on the biggest codeine-based cough syrup diversion in years that has come to light.