Cops seize MD worth ₹1.17 crore, arrests Homeopathy dropout

Police arrest a Homeopathy dropout and seize Mephedrone worth around ₹1.17 crore from his makeshift laboratory in Mumbai.

MUMBAI: The police on Wednesday arrested a Homeopathy dropout and seized Mephedrone (MD) worth around ₹1.17 crore from his makeshift laboratory set up in the slum pocket of Laljipada in Kandivali West.

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The accused, Noor Alam Mohammed Chowdhary, 24, had rented a 150-square-foot room four months ago with one single bed space and a single slab kitchen platform, where he set up a laboratory in the room to manufacture the synthetic drug with the raw material that he procured from local stores and online websites.

Acting on a tip-off from an accused, Abrar Shaikh, 30, who was arrested a few days ago with one gram of MD worth ₹5,000, the police raided the place and found the entire kitchen platform was covered by beakers, chemicals, and raw material stored in small kitchen jars and bottles and a mixture was being boiled using a specialized circular gas stove.

Chowdhary has been staying in the area for years with his family. He had been a science student and knew the basic formulas.

Chowdhary claimed that he learnt to manufacture MD through the internet and YouTube channels, and after several failed attempts, he was able to make a low-quality drug, which he sold to several peddlers in the city, said police sources.

“We have got the names of the peddlers that he had sold the drug to and are verifying his claims and also ascertaining the cost at which he had sold the drug,” Chimaji Adhav, senior police inspector, Malwani police station, said.

It appears that Chowdhary had told the people residing in the neighbourhood that he was manufacturing medicines, as the process of manufacturing MD emanated a foul smell. “For days, Chowdhary used to lock himself in the room. The neighbours perhaps ignored the stench emanating from the manufacturing process,” added another officer.