LUCKNOW The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI), in coordination with the UP Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS), busted a clandestine mephedrone manufacturing laboratory in a remote village in Orai, Jalaun district, seizing 1,102.88 kg of drugs, semi-processed substances and precursor chemicals valued at over ₹300 crore and arresting two alleged members of a drug manufacturing and trafficking network, officials said on Thursday.
The operation, conducted in the early hours of Thursday, uncovered a functional laboratory equipped to manufacture synthetic psychotropic substances. The haul included 15.44 kg of finished mephedrone, a synthetic stimulant commonly known as MD, and 184 kg of semi-processed substances.
The total seizure included material recovered during the raid on the laboratory and subsequent searches at the residences of the accused. It also comprised precursor chemicals and other material and equipment-related recoveries; the entire 1,102.88 kg should not be construed as finished narcotic drugs.
The arrested men were identified as Hemendra Kushwah, 27, a resident of Orai, and Santosh, 37, from Maharashtra, sources privy to the investigation said. Investigators were probing the source of the raw material, the laboratory’s production capacity and the intended distribution network.
According to the DRI, officers moved through the narrow lanes of the village before raiding the premises with UP ATS personnel. The search yielded 582.2 kg (gross weight) of precursor chemicals and other material, besides the semi-processed substances.
{{/usCountry}}According to the DRI, officers moved through the narrow lanes of the village before raiding the premises with UP ATS personnel. The search yielded 582.2 kg (gross weight) of precursor chemicals and other material, besides the semi-processed substances.
{{/usCountry}}A subsequent search at one accused’s residence led to the recovery of the finished mephedrone, 152.94 kg (gross weight) of chemicals and a machine used in the manufacturing process. Another 168.3 kg (gross weight) of precursor chemicals was seized from the second accused’s premises.
The Jalaun bust follows several operations against suspected illegal drug-manufacturing facilities in Uttar Pradesh this year, pointing to the spread of clandestine production beyond conventional trafficking routes.
In September, Maharashtra’s Mira Bhayandar-Vasai Virar crime branch uncovered a mephedrone manufacturing unit in Prayagraj. The operation yielded 52.932 kg of the synthetic drug, taking the total recovery in the wider case to 69.759 kg, with the alleged illicit market value estimated at around ₹100 crore. The investigation began with a smaller seizure in Maharashtra and led to arrests across multiple states.
In March, the Gujarat ATS, assisted by the UP Police, busted a suspected mephedrone facility operating from a poultry farm in Ramnagar Karai village in Ambedkar Nagar district. The raid yielded 6 kg of mephedrone in solid form, 50 kg in liquid form, 88 kg of a chemical used in its manufacture and around 200 kg of other raw materials and chemicals.
In August, the DRI uncovered an illegal psychotropic drug manufacturing facility in residential premises in Jewar, Gautam Buddha Nagar district. It seized around 30 kg of amphetamine and intermediate substances, 30 kg of precursor chemicals and manufacturing equipment, and arrested two people.
Separately, three suspected heroin-related manufacturing units were unearthed in Lucknow and Bareilly between October 4 and October 23. Those operations resulted in seven arrests and the seizure of 17.196 kg of finished and semi-finished heroin and suspected raw morphine. Investigators had not established links between these cases and the mephedrone operations.