Kanpur: The Kanpur Police on Saturday arrested Vedprakash Shivhare, the alleged kingpin of an illegal trade in banned codeine-based cough syrup and a Rs 25,000 rewardee, nearly 10 months after the case was registered. Police said the arrest dealt a major blow to the drug trafficking network operating in the city.DCP Crime Shravan Kumar Singh said Shivhare had been evading arrest since the case surfaced on Oct 10, 2025, when drug inspector Ompal Singh lodged an FIR at Collectorganj police station alleging the illegal trade of banned codeine-based cough syrup.Police said a case was registered under Sections 132 (assault or criminal force to deter a public servant from discharging duty), 318(4) (cheating), 336(3) (forgery), 338 (forgery of valuable security, will, etc.),
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and 340(2) (using a forged document or electronic record as genuine) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, along with relevant provisions of the NDPS Act. The investigation was subsequently transferred to the Crime Branch.During the probe, Shivhare emerged as the main accused. Police said multiple teams conducted continuous raids to trace the accused. Acting on inputs from the informer network and using technical surveillance, they finally arrested Shivhare. After interrogation, he was produced before a court, which remanded him to judicial custody.According to police, Vinod Agrawal, Shivam Agrawal, Sumit Kesarwani, Vishal Singh and Prabhat Khare, who were allegedly linked to the racket, had already been arrested and sent to jail. With the arrest of the alleged kingpin, police have intensified the investigation into the racket’s supply chain and are working to identify and take action against other associates.Singh said the Crime Branch is continuing its efforts to expose the entire network and dismantle all links connected to the illegal trade.
