Mumbai cops seize drugs worth Rs 1,026 crore from Bharuch factory

MUMBAI: The Anti Narcotics Cell (ANC) of Mumbai police raided a drug-manufacturing company in Bharuch, Gujarat and seized 513kg of mephedrone worth Rs 1,026 crore and arrested one of its partners on Saturday.
The action comes after the seizure of 704kg of mephedrone or MD worth Rs 1,400 crore in Maharashtra in the first week of August. During investigation, sleuths came upon links with the Gujarat firm. Saturday's arrest was the seventh in the case.
Infinity Research and Development Limited at Panoli GIDC in Bharuch was making pharmaceutical formulations, but had shifted recently to psychotropic substances- an offence under the Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act. The police arrested Giriraj Dixit, who holds a master's degree in chemistry, and are probing the roles of other partners.
In the first seizure on August 4, the arrested mastermind was found to be Praveen Singh, 52, who had an MSc in organic chemistry from Purvanchal University. In an echo of popular OTT series, 'Breaking Bad', he had gone rogue after holding a job. The drugs were manufactured in Palghar and Ambernath.
Seven arrests made till now in MD case worth crores
Speaking about the Rs 1,026-crore mephedrone (MD) seized from a Bharuch GIDC company, ANC DCP Datta Nalawade said besides 513kg of MD, they also found huge quantities of raw material like bromine, mono methylamine and recovered chloroform, all ingredients that go into the making of MD.
The police have so far arrested seven persons, including Shamshullah Khan (39), Ayub Khan (38), Reshma Chandan (35), Riyaz Memon (43), Singh and Kiran Pawar.
They have identified five to six properties purchased by Singh in Mumbai, Nalasopara and Gujarat. "We are in the process of seizing the flats, each worth Rs 3 crore, and have identified three to four shops. We have also written to banks on the financial transactions and are likely to send a team to UP to identify his properties," added the officer.
The agency achieved the major breakthrough after they received a tip-off about a peddler striking a deal in Govandi-Mankhurd in March this year. The follow-up action led the police to a series of arrests and the busting of two units that were manufacturing the contraband.