VARANASI, Oct. 20 -- A joint team of the Sonbhadra police, special operation group (SOG) and excise department on Sunday arrested three persons and seized a large consignment of banned cough syrup containing narcotic substance codeine being smuggled to Bihar via Sonbhadra and Jharkhand. The seizure was made during a vehicle checking drive near the Police Line trisection in Sonbhadra. The arrested accused have been identified as Hemant Pal, a resident of Shivpuri district (Madhya Pradesh), and Brajmohan Shivhare and Ramgopal Dhakad, both residents of Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh, said additional superintendent of police (headquarters) Anil Kumar. He added that the joint team stopped and inspected two container vehicles during the routine drive. A huge consignment of banned narcotic cough syrup, worth approximately Rs.3 crore, was found loaded in the containers. A total of 1,19,675 vials, each containing 100 ml of the syrup, were packed in 399 plastic bags. Following the seizure, a drug inspector was called to the spot. He confirmed that the syrup contained codeine, a banned narcotic substance that falls under the category of prohibited drugs under the NDPS Act. During interrogation, the accused revealed that the banned syrup was hidden between cartons of snacks and chips. It was being transported from Ghaziabad to Jharkhand. Upon arrival, they were to receive instructions from an accomplice, Ram, on where to unload the consignment. Ram had also allegedly arranged for the concealment of the syrup within the cartons of snacks in both containers.....