ED Attaches ₹1 Crore Assets of Pharma Partner in Codeine Diversion Case
Agency freezes Panipat land linked to Neeraj Bhatia as probe uncovers seven-year racket supplying regulated cough syrups to drug networks across North India.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has attached assets worth ₹1 crore belonging to Neeraj Bhatia, a partner in a private healthcare company, over alleged involvement in the illegal diversion of codeine-based cough syrups for narcotic supply.
The action, led by the ED’s Jammu sub-zonal office, has triggered concern among pharmaceutical industry circles, as Bhatia also heads the Sirmour Drug Manufacturing Association.
The case stems from an investigation initiated by the Jammu Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), which accused Bhatia, co-accused Niket Kansal and their associates of diverting Corex and codeine cough syrups from legal manufacturing units into drug trafficking networks.
According to ED findings, between 2018 and 2024, large consignments of regulated cough syrups were supplied to five entities, SS Industries, Kansal Industries, Noveta Pharma, Kansal Pharmaceuticals, and NK Pharmaceutical, allegedly linked to Kansal’s network.
The supply chain eventually led to Srinagar resident Rais Ahmad Bhatt, from whose premises the NCB seized a major cache of cough syrup in January 2024.
Earlier in February 2025, ED teams had searched the residences of Bhatia and Kansal, recovering ₹32 lakh in cash and jewellery worth ₹1.61 crore. As part of the continued action, the agency has now frozen a land parcel belonging to the firm in Panipat as a “proceeds of crime” asset.
NCB investigations indicate that a drug trafficking network operating across Delhi, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir has been illegally pushing codeine cough syrups for nearly seven years. So far, seven individuals have been arrested, and about 34 kg of codeine syrup has been seized from different locations.
The development also follows action taken eight months ago at the home of senior BJP leader Nitisain Bhatia in Panipat, where ED teams conducted a 17-hour search. Officials seized ₹6 lakh in cash, foreign liquor, and several empty jewellery boxes. Five luxury vehicles were found at the residence.
The agency had not revealed the contents of the boxes taken during the raid.
The ED probe is ongoing, with more attachments and arrests likely as investigators track the financial routes of the alleged pharma-drug racket.