IN the biggest-ever drug bust by Pune City police, the Crime Branch has seized around 1,700 kg of mephedrone worth Rs 3,000 crore in several raids conducted at a chemical manufacturing factory in Daund taluka, two godowns in Pune’s Vishrantwadi and some shops in South Extension in New Delhi. The investigation has unearthed a sophisticated production line for the synthetic stimulant, operating from a chemical factory guised as a pharmaceutical unit at an industrial cluster in Kurkumbh in Daund.
Pune Police Commissioner Amitesh Kumar confirmed that total seizure till late on Tuesday night was around 1,700 kg with an approximate value of Rs 3,000 crore.
Two more persons were arrested on Tuesday taking the total number of arrests in the case to five with several more suspects currently being questioned. The two arrested include the man who was running the chemical factory in Kurkumbh.
“The investigation points to a nationwide network of mephedrone production and trafficking with possible international linkages, in a sense that a portion of the contraband may have been destined for locations abroad. We have already found links of this racket to all the metro cities in India and at least six-seven major cities in Maharashtra,” Kumar told The Indian Express.
“This is the biggest-ever drug bust of Pune police and one of the biggest ever in India in a single action,” said Shailesh Balkawde, Additional Commissioner of Police (Crime) for Pune city.
The multiple seizures and raids come following Monday’s development in which three persons, including a salt trader in the city, were arrested and 1.75 kg of mephedrone worth Rs 3.5 crore was seized from them. Officials said after the arrest of the trio, two godowns in Vishrantwadi were raided and over 50 kg of mephedrone was recovered from those facilities. Police later received information that the drugs were being synthesised in a chemical factory in Kurkumbh. In the raid conducted at this plant, over 650 kg of mephedrone was seized along with large quantities of the raw material used for mephedrone synthesis. The total value of seized raw material was being ascertained.
“As the investigation progressed, we had pre-positioned our teams at some locations in different parts of India. The suspected involvement of some foreign nationals and persons of Indian origin settled abroad is also being investigated,” Kumar said.
The probe further led Pune police to two shops located next to each other in South Extension in New Delhi. “A large stock of mephedrone hidden in these shops was seized. Close to 400 kg of the drug was seized from these shops and some persons are being questioned in this regard,“ a senior officer said.
In October and November last year, the Pune City police and parallel probes by the Mumbai and Nashik police unearthed a widespread mephedrone manufacturing cartel operated by drug kingpin Lalit Patil. In a raid conducted at a chemical factory in Shinde Gaon in Nashik, the Mumbai police had seized over 150 kg of mephedrone worth Rs 300 crore.
Mephedrone, which has various street names such as Meow Meow, White Magic, M-Cat and Drone, is a synthetically manufactured central nervous system stimulant of the amphetamine and cathinone category. Till early 2010, the drug was not included in the list of contrabands under the NDPS Act. But multiple seizures of large quantities of the drug and rising instances of its consumption as narcotic in large cities prompted authorities to include it in the list in 2015. Investigators say that over the last three-four years, the price of one gram of mephedrone in the illegal market also rose from over Rs 9,000 in 2021 to Rs 15,000 in 2022 and close to Rs 20,000 (Rs 2 crore per kg) at present — indicating an increase in demand. While these prices are for the purest product available, it may vary according to the purity of the product.
Aisha Patel is a dedicated Indian correspondent with a deep understanding of the nation’s diverse affairs. With a background in Indian culture, politics, and current events, she provides in-depth analysis and timely reporting on domestic issues within India.
