BHABUA, Oct. 16 -- Codeine-based cough syrup worth Rs.80 lakh and hidden in bags of beaten rice on a Uttar Pradesh registration truck was seized by excise department officials in Kaimur on Thursday. Acting on a tip regarding a large consignment of intoxicating cough syrup arriving from UP ahead of Durga Puja, a team under excise inspector Santosh Shrivastava launched a check at the Karmnasha integrated checkpost on the border. The team stopped the suspected truck and seized 302 boxes of the cough syrup kept behind 151 sacks of beaten rice, using a scanner. The boxes contained approximately 3,020 litres of codeine cough syrup valued at between Rs.75 lakh and Rs.80 lakh in the market, Shrivastava said. Truck driver Prem Narayan Vishwakarma and cleaner Govind Vishwakarma, both UP residents, were arrested and the truck was seized after they failed to produce any documents regarding the possession and transportation of the drug. The arrested duo informed officials that the cough syrup was being transported from Jhansi to Kolkata. However, officials suspect the consignment was intended for sale in Bihar during the Durga Puja festival and are investigating the matter. Codeine based cough syrup is banned unless accompanied by a doctor's prescription. Its unprescribed sale, purchase, possession or transportation is illegal and subject to criminal liability under the Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, officials said....