War on drugs: DRI busts Mephedrone manufacturing units in Hyd; seizes narcotics worth Rs 49 Cr
DRI launched a quick and well-coordinated operation on December 21, 2022, based on a particular intelligence, and smashed the two covert labs. Seven people involved in the manufacturing in these two locations were apprehended and placed in custody.
By Newsmeter Network Published on 27 Dec 2022 3:02 AM GMT
Hyderabad: Directorate of Intelligence Revenue (DRI) uncovered two clandestine Mephedrone production facilities in Hyderabad and brought down the entire network by apprehending the mastermind and financier.
DRI sleuthes recovered 24.885 kg of completed Mephedrone, valued at Rs. 49.77 crore on the black market, as well as in-process materials, sale profits of Rs. 18.90 lakh, critical raw materials, machinery, and cars used in trafficking.
DRI launched a quick and well-coordinated operation on December 21, 2022, based on a particular intelligence, and smashed the two covert labs. Seven people involved in the manufacturing in these two locations were apprehended and placed in custody.
In a rapid follow-up operation, the mastermind and principal financier of this activity was apprehended in Gorakhpur as he attempted to flee to Nepal with Rs. 60 lakh in cash.
Some of those arrested are accused in a 2016 DRI case for the clandestine manufacture of 236 kg Ephedrine in Indore; a July 2022 DRI case for the clandestine manufacture of 667 kg mephedrone in Yamuna Nagar; an escape from prison case in Indore; a murder case in Hyderabad; and robberies in Vadodara.
This coordinated approach is in keeping with the Home Minister's and Finance Minister's advice to officials, with an emphasis on going after the big fish and apprehending primary handlers and perpetrators/financiers in drug cases.
The destruction of the covert labs and the arrest of the whole drug cartel have put a damper on their plans to perpetrate heinous crimes on New Year and beyond.
This is DRI's second manufacturing bust in the current fiscal year, following a similar instance in Yamuna Nagar, Haryana, in July-August 2022. Officers of DRI have confiscated over 990 kg of Heroin, 88 kg of Cocaine, 10,000 Methamphetamine tablets, 2,400 liters of Phensedyl cough syrup, and several other hazardous NDPS substances in this fiscal year alone (till November 2022). DRI remains committed to protecting the nation's health and addressing the threat of narco-terrorism.
