Cough Syrup Kingpins Flee Abroad: Red Corner Notice Sought for Shubham Jaiswal, Akash Pathak

• SIT seeks Red Corner Notice via CBI for masterminds Shubham Jaiswal and Akash Pathak, who fled India after a massive cough syrup smuggling syndicate was busted in UP.
• The syndicate involved 28 main accused, operating across UP, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Bihar, and extending to Bangladesh, using fake firms and documents.
• Shubham Jaiswal, the alleged mastermind, set up fake firms in Jharkhand, supplying millions of codeine-based cough syrup bottles.
• Crores of rupees from smuggling were laundered through hawala; ED is investigating money laundering and seizing Shubham's properties.
• Red Corner Notice aims to facilitate the return of absconding accused, marking the largest action against narcotic cough syrup in UP.

Why It Matters: Masterminds of a vast cough syrup smuggling ring fled abroad; SIT seeks Interpol's Red Corner Notice.