VARANASI, March 20 -- A special investigation team (SIT) of Sonbhadra police has arrested an accused involved in smuggling codeine-based cough syrup to Bangladesh, officials said on Thursday. The accused, Zuber Hussain Sheikh, was apprehended on March 16 from the Liluah police station area in Howrah city, West Bengal. Sonbhadra superintendent of police (SP) Abhishek Verma said the accused is a resident of Patel Nagar under Chikalthana police station area in Maharashtra's Aurangabad district. "The accused has been brought to Sonbhadra on a transit remand, and necessary legal proceedings against him are currently underway," the SP added. According to Verma, Sheikh revealed during investigation that he facilitated the trafficking of Phensedyl cough syrup from Shubham Jaiswal's Ranchi-based Shaili Traders all the way to Bangladesh. The accused also revealed that the consignments were first routed to Purnia in Bihar and border areas such as Siliguri and Cooch Behar in West Bengal. From there, Bengali-speaking drivers transported them across the border into Bangladesh, Verma said. The SP said the gang deliberately relied on Bengali-speaking members to ease cross-border movement and avoid suspicion. According to Verma, the accused further revealed that drivers working for his gang in the Maranga, Baisi, and Sarsi police station areas of Purnia (Bihar) - Amin, Firoz, Sumer Sheikh (a resident of Aurangabad, Maharashtra), Adil (a resident of Uttar Pradesh), and Wasim - had previously been apprehended along with their trucks in Ranchi while engaged in cough syrup smuggling. They are currently lodged in jails in Purnia and Ranchi. One of the accused, Sumer Sheikh, has already secured bail, allegedly with the support of the syndicate. Investigators said the network functioned in a highly organised manner, with strict instructions to drivers not to reveal identities or addresses of other members if caught. In return, the gang assured financial support to their families and legal assistance for securing bail. Police also said a meeting of gang members had been scheduled on March 15 at a hotel along the Kalyani Expressway near Howrah. The purpose was to distribute around Rs.1 lakh as Eid assistance to families of arrested drivers. Acting on a tip-off, the SIT carried out a raid and arrested Sheikh. The SP said that four cases are registered against the accused - one in Sonbhadra and three in Bihar's Purnia district, at Baisi, Maranga and Sarsi police stations....