LUCKNOW, Dec. 4 -- In a major escalation of the ongoing investigation into the interstate codeine-based cough syrup diversion racket, the Enforcement Directorate (ED), Lucknow zone, on Tuesday registered a Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) case against alleged kingpin Shubham Jaiswal and several others, confirmed ED officials here on Wednesday. By invoking PMLA, the ED will now probe the financial routes used to launder proceeds from illegal cough syrup sales, Benami bank accounts and digital transactions as well as shell companies, including Saili Traders, used to procure and divert stock and potential foreign links involving money transfers and cross-border networks. The ED officials suspect the illegal trade generated crores of rupees, funnelled through layered transactions, fictitious firms and cash payments that were never disclosed. The ED action is based on multiple FIRs filed by the Uttar Pradesh Police across the districts of Sonbhadra, Varanasi, and Ghaziabad, all of which point to a large-scale network illegally siphoning off controlled pharmaceutical drugs for narcotic misuse. The officials confirmed that ED teams have also pasted a formal notice at Shubham Jaiswal's residence in Varanasi, summoning him for questioning on December 8 and seeking detailed financial disclosures related to the suspected proceeds of crime. Jaiswal, who is suspected to have fled India shortly before police action intensified, remains absconding. "The ED has formally issued a summons to Shubham Jaiswal, the alleged kingpin of the interstate codeine-based cough syrup diversion racket, directing him to appear before investigators under provisions of the PMLA, 2002. The notice was pasted at his residence located in Kayastha Tola, Prahlad Ghat, Varanasi, as the accused remains absconding. The summons, issued under Section 50(2) and 50(3) of the PMLA, requires Jaiswal to present himself before the agency and give evidence, as well as produce documents and records specified in the accompanying schedule. These provisions empower the ED to summon any person, record statements under oath, and demand financial or transactional records relevant to a money-laundering investigation," a senior ED official explained. He said the notice clearly states that failure to appear at the time and place specified, or refusal to provide evidence and documents as required, will make Shubham Jaiswal liable to penal proceedings under the PMLA 2002 and relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, including Section 229 dealing with obstruction or non-compliance during lawful investigation. He said the pasted notice warns that evasion or non-cooperation will attract stringent legal consequences, signalling that the ED is escalating its pursuit of Jaiswal. The official further clarified that the PMLA case is based on a series of FIRs registered over the past several months in connection with the illegal diversion of codeine-based cough syrups such as Phensedyl and other controlled formulations. He said the racket - spread across Uttar Pradesh and linked to Jharkhand, Bihar, West Bengal, Nepal, and Bangladesh-allegedly used shell firms and fake pharmaceutical supply chains to move thousands of bottles into grey markets for illicit consumption. He said some of the key FIRs include the Sonbhadra FIR after the crackdown on the Saili Traders network operated in the name of Shubham Jaiswal and the arrest of his father Bhola Prasad from Kolkata airport on November 30. The ED's move follows a series of arrests by the UP Police and the STF, which helped establish the financial trails now under scrutiny. The major arrests so far include Shubham Jaiswal's father Bhola Prasad, Amit Singh 'Tata', and the Tuesday arrest of terminated police constable Alok Pratap Singh....