Ahmedabad. Authorities seized Mephedrone (MD) drug worth Rs 1,814 crore and raw materials used in its manufacturing from a factory in Bhopal, the capital of Madhya Pradesh, and arrested two people in this regard. Officials gave this information on Sunday.
Gujarat’s Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) and Delhi’s Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) on Saturday raided the factory located in Bagroda Industrial Area near Bhopal and recovered a total of 907.09 kg of mephedrone in solid and liquid form, officials said.
ATS said in a statement that this is the biggest illegal factory, which has been raided by Gujarat ATS so far. Every day 25 kg of MD narcotic is made in this factory. It said that when the factory was raided, the process of manufacturing a large quantity of banned substance was going on. ATS said that during the operation, the authorities seized 907.09 kg of mephedrone in solid and liquid form, which has an estimated value of Rs 1,814.18 crore in the international market.
He said that during this operation, two persons named Amit Chaturvedi (57) and Sanyal Prakash Bane (40) were arrested. During preliminary interrogation, it has emerged that Bane was also earlier arrested in 2017 in the MD drug seizure case in Amboli, Maharashtra and was in jail for five years.
ATS said, “After his release, he conspired with co-accused Chaturvedi to illegally manufacture and sell MD to earn profits and decided to rent a factory on the outskirts of Bhopal.” He told that both the accused had taken the factory on rent six-seven months ago. Three-four months ago he collected raw materials and equipment and started making and selling MD.
Gujarat Home Minister Harsh Sanghvi praised the efforts of law enforcement agencies in combating drug trafficking. Sanghvi said in a post on ‘X’, “Congratulations to Gujarat ATS and NCB, Delhi for the big victory in the fight against drugs. “Recently they raided a factory in Bhopal and seized MD and the materials used to make it, worth Rs 1,814 crore.”
He said, “This achievement reflects the tireless efforts of our law enforcement agencies in the fight against drug trafficking and drug abuse. “Their collective efforts are vital for the safety of our society.” The minister said that the dedication of the law enforcement agencies is really praiseworthy. He said, “Let us continue to support them in their campaign to make India a safe and healthy country.”