Thane: The Mira Bhayandar-Vasai Virar (MBVV) police have busted an illegal chemical manufacturing facility in Telangana that allegedly supplied crucial precursor material for the synthetic drug mephedrone, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime) Sandip Doiphode told a news conference on Saturday, according to PTI.

Source: PTI via Swadesi

Acting on intelligence gathered during the wider probe, a specialised team of MBVV Crime Branch Unit-4 raided an industrial unit in the IDA Pashamylaram area of Patancheru in Telangana's Sangareddy district on October 21. With tactical support from the Patancheru police under the Cyberabad Police Commissionerate, officers apprehended the alleged prime chemical manufacturer, Ramesh Babu Sake, and destroyed the clandestine facility, police said.

Police seized almost 45 kg of 2-Bromo-4-Methylpropiophenone, a highly controlled chemical regulated under the NDPS Act and used in the synthesis of mephedrone, valued at over Rs 27 lakh, alongside raw chemical compounds and laboratory apparatus.

The investigation began after MBVV police intercepted two suspects in Nalasopara (East) in Palghar district on June 24 and recovered 112 grams of mephedrone from them, Doiphode said. The probe then uncovered two clandestine MD manufacturing laboratories on agricultural land in Sandhan village in Gujarat's Kutch district and at Kosada Kala in Uttar Pradesh's Prayagraj district, according to police.

Before the Telangana breakthrough, police had already seized nearly 70 kg of mephedrone, significant cash, 260 litres of essential precursor chemicals and specialised laboratory equipment in the case, Doiphode said.

With the latest operation, the total number of people arrested in the case has reached 25, including alleged drug manufacturers, precursor chemical suppliers, smugglers, peddlers and financial handlers, police added. The allegations against those arrested are yet to be tested in court, and the investigation is continuing.