Drug kingpin leased land from Gujarat government, paid ₹84 lakh

He was arrested in August this year by the anti-narcotics cell for allegedly synthesizing mephedrone and supplying it to peddlers in Mumbai and nearby areas.

Mumbai: Premprakash Singh – the alleged main accused arrested earlier this year in connection with the ₹4,800 crore mephedrone haul – paid ₹84 lakh to the Gujarat government in exchange for land to set up his factory, the anti-narcotics cell (ANC) has found.

On Wednesday, the anti-narcotics cell attached his assets, which included flats, commercial spaces and bank accounts, collectively worth ₹19.58 crore. (HT PHOTO)

Singh was arrested in August this year by the ANC for allegedly synthesizing mephedrone and supplying it to peddlers in Mumbai and nearby areas. On Wednesday, the ANC attached Singh’s assets, which included flats, commercial spaces and bank accounts, collectively worth ₹19.58 crore.

During the process of identifying his assets, the police found that he had also purchased a 5000 square meter plot of land in Bharuch, Gujarat. HT had on October 8 reported how Singh planned to set up his own pharma company on the land and had already started construction as well as placed orders for the machinery required.

“Further inquiries have established that Singh represented himself as a pharmacist and obtained the plot of land from the Gujarat government on a 99-year lease for a sum of ₹84 lakh,” said Deputy Commissioner of Police Datta Nalawade, ANC.

As Singh is an organic chemistry postgraduate from the Purvanchal University in Jaunpur, the transaction was technically a legal one. The ANC now faces the task of establishing that the money paid for the land was from the ill-gotten wealth that Singh allegedly made by selling mephedrone.

“To seize this property, we will need to establish the illegality beyond doubt,” said an ANC officer.

As there is a state government involved in the matter, the process will be a lengthier one, the officer added.

“We are consulting legal experts as to how to move forward in this regard, as inquiries have shown that Singh planned to synthesize mephedrone at the factory under the guise of a pharma company,” said the officer.

The plan, according to the ANC, was to stop depending on others for producing the synthetic drug. Since his operation picked up, Singh had used the services of two different pharma plants, one in Ambarnath and the other in Gujarat, to synthesize several batches of mephedrone, in exchange for huge cash payments to the plant owners.

Both the owners have been arrested by the ANC, while statements have been recorded from the plant employees as well as the transporters who ferried the drugs from the plants to locations specified by Singh.