Drug Nexus Busted: Gujarat Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) and Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) have exposed a big drug nexus. ATS and NCB conducted a joint operation and seized mephedrone drugs worth Rs 230 crore in Gujarat and Rajasthan. 13 people have also been arrested along with this consignment of drugs. Gujarat ATS had received secret information about this dark game of drugs, after which action was taken.
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According to a Hindustan Times report, officials said that Gujarat ATS and NCB conducted the raid on Friday. ATS had received information that Manoharlal Enani, a resident of Ahmedabad, and Kuldeep Singh Rajpurohit, a resident of Rajasthan, were playing the illegal game of drugs. Gujarat ATS was told that both the accused had set up manufacturing units of mephedrone drugs, where drugs were being prepared on a large scale.
Drugs recovered during raids in Gujarat-Rajasthan
According to a press release issued by the police, “The ATS has recovered 22.028 kg of mephedrone and 124 kg of liquid mephedrone, which has a market value of Rs 230 crore. Rajpurohit was caught during a raid in Gandhinagar, while Enani was arrested from Sirohi.”
It said that raids were conducted at manufacturing units located in Sirohi and Jodhpur in Rajasthan. Apart from this, raids were also conducted at Pipalaj village in Gandhinagar and Bhaktinagar industrial area in Amreli district in Gujarat and drugs were recovered.
Raw material for making drugs was obtained from Valsad
The investigation revealed that Anani was arrested by the DRI in 2015 for his involvement in the production of mephedrone at an industrial unit in Rajasthan. He was then in jail for seven years. The press release said that all the accused are connected to each other and were bringing raw material for making drugs from a company in the Vapi industrial area of Valsad district.
At present, investigation is going on as to how long these people were making drugs and whether they have sold drugs to anyone before. Apart from this, investigation is also being done as to who all were involved in this entire illegal drug business.
The kingpin has been identified
According to NCB Deputy Director Operations Gyaneshwar Singh, the kingpin of this network has been identified and will be arrested soon. Mephedrone, also known as 4-methylmethcathinone, 4-MMC and 4-methylephedrone, is a synthetic stimulant drug of the amphetamine and cathinone group. In the drug world, it is also called drone, M-cat, white magic, “meow meow” and bubble.
Surveillance continued for 3 months
According to the NCB, ATS Gujarat Police came to know about secret labs manufacturing mephedrone in Gujarat and Rajasthan. A joint team of ATS Gujarat Police and NCB Headquarters Operations Unit was formed to bust these labs. In an operation that lasted for more than 3 months, intense technical and ground surveillance was carried out to identify the individuals involved in this network as well as the locations of the secret laboratories.
This is how the action happened
On April 27, at around 4 pm, joint teams of ATS Gujarat Police and NCB (Headquarters Operations Unit, NCB Jodhpur Zone and NCB Ahmedabad Zone) conducted simultaneous raids at Bhinmal, Osian in Jalore district of Rajasthan. A total of 149 kg of mephedrone (in powder and liquid form), 50 kg of ephedrine and 200 liters of acetone were recovered from Jodhpur district Rajasthan and Gandhinagar district Gujarat and 7 accused have been arrested so far. Based on interrogation of those arrested in Gandhinagar, another place has been identified in Amreli (Gujarat), where raids are continuing and more drugs are expected to be recovered.
