VARANASI, Jan. 29 -- Three men arrested in Siddharthanagar district have confessed to smuggling approximately six lakh bottles of codeine cough syrup and earning crores of rupees through a network of fake companies that trafficked the drug to Bangladesh, Varanasi police said on Wednesday.

Vikas Singh alias "Narve", 34, from Azamgarh; Akash Pathak, 37, from Varanasi; and Ankit Srivastava, 30, from Jaunpur, were apprehended by the Special Investigating Team (SIT) of Varanasi Commissionerate police on Tuesday while allegedly attempting to flee to Nepal.

Deputy commissioner of police (crime) Sarvanan T said the trio was wanted under a lookout notice in the codeine smuggling case registered in Varanasi.

During interrogation, the accused pro...