The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) and the Gujarat Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) in a joint operation on Saturday blew the lid off three factories engaged in manufacturing mephedrone.
While two factories were found in Rajasthan, one near Gandhinagar was also raided.
Officials found large quantities of mephedrone along with a substantial quantity of raw materials. Drugs worth around Rs 300 crore have been seized so far, according to authorities.
“Information was received by ATS Gujarat Police from a confidential source regarding clandestine Mephedrone manufacturing labs operating from Gujarat and Rajasthan. To bust these labs, a joint team of ATS Gujarat police and NCB Headquarters Operations unit was constituted. In an operation spanning over 03 months, intensive technical and ground surveillance was mounted to identify the persons involved in this network as well as locations of clandestine labs,” Gyaneshwar Singh, Deputy Director General (OEC), said in a press release.
Mephedrone, also known as 4-methylmethcathinone, 4-MMC, and 4-methylephedrone, is a synthetic stimulant drug of the amphetamine and cathinone classes. Slang names include Drone, M-CAT, White Magic, Meow Meow, and Bubble.
“Endeavouring on Inter-agency and Intra-zonal synergy on 27/04/2024, around 0400 Hrs. simultaneous raids were conducted by joint teams of ATS Gujarat police and NCB (Hqr operations unit, NCB Jodhpur zone and NCB Ahmedabad Zone) at 03 suspected locations (Bhinmal in Jalore district Rajasthan, Osian in Jodhpur District Rajasthan and Gandhinagar district Gujarat) leading to a total recovery of 149 kg mephedrone (in powder and liquid form), 50kg Ephedrine and 200 litres Acetone and apprehension of 07 accused persons till now. Based on the interrogation of the apprehended persons in Gandhinagar, another site has been identified in Amreli (Gujarat), where raids are in progress. More recoveries are expected,” the statement added.
The kingpin of this network has been identified and will be arrested soon, Singh said. “Efforts are being made to track and identify the source of precursor chemicals as well as the distribution network, National as well as any International linkages,” the statement added.
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