LUCKNOW, Dec. 3 -- Widening its crackdown on the illegal distribution of codeine-based cough syrups, the Uttar Pradesh Food Safety and Drug Administration has brought an increasing number of stockists and pharmaceutical firms under its scanner. Till Tuesday, 116 stockists and two pharmaceutical companies had been booked, and a total of 118 FIRs have been filed since the controversy erupted. In addition, nearly 200 more stockists and two more companies are under investigation for suspected irregularities in markets across the state. A senior FSDA official in Lucknow, on the condition of anonymity, said hundreds of small manufacturers continue to produce low-cost cough syrups that often enter the market without prescriptions or proper oversight. "Officials have launched a statewide action against the nexus of companies, stockists and retailers," the official said. He added that major medicine hubs -- including Noida, Meerut, Agra, Lucknow, Kanpur and Varanasi -- also supply to neighbouring states and even countries such as Nepal, Bangladesh and Pakistan. "Traders who earlier despatched consignments without proper documentation are now under tight surveillance. With STF and ED stepping in, many more FIRs are expected," he said. "UP accounts for nearly 17% of the country's medicine sales. Though no official figures are available exclusively for the state, its share amounts to approximately Rs.3,700 crore in the Indian cough syrup market, valued at around Rs.21,800 crore," a member of the Lucknow Chemists' Association said, requesting anonymity. htc...