Thane crime branch busts MD-making unit in Uttarakhand, three arrested

Thane crime branch, aided by Uttarakhand police, arrested three men in a mephedrone manufacturing bust, seizing machinery and drugs worth ₹30.99 lakh.

The Thane crime branch, with help from Uttarakhand’s local police, recently busted a mephedrone-manufacturing unit in Uttarakhand and arrested three men. The police seized manufacturing machinery, raw materials, and a getaway vehicle that the accused were using to flee to Nepal.

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The operation stemmed from two arrests made by the Kasarvadavli police from Ghodbunder Road on June 1. The accused, identified as Vishal Bipin Singh and Mallesh Ramesh Shevla, were found with 10.23g of MD, worth ₹35,000, in their possession at Ghodbunder Road. During interrogation, they told the police that they sourced the drugs from Uttarakhand. Technical investigation helped them locate the facility where the synthetic stimulant was being manufactured.

Police inspector Salil Bhosale formed two separate teams for Uttarakhand. One team led by assistant police inspectors Bhushan Vidi and Sharad Patil, along with constables Dnyaneshwar Jadhav and Minila Shikare, reached the Meltauda area in Pithoragarh district, Uttarakhand. On June 27, they raided the premises and uncovered a fully functional drug-manufacturing setup. Machinery and various chemicals used in MD production, worth ₹18.54 lakh, were seized from the site, but the accused had fled.

Simultaneously, another team, led by PSI Tushar Mane along with officers Sunil Nikam and Sachin Bandgar, learned that the three accused fled towards the Nepal border. After a chase, they intercepted the suspects within the Palia police station limits in Lakhimpur Kheri district, Uttar Pradesh. The accused were fleeing in a Maruti Suzuki Ciaz vehicle.

The arrested men were Om Jaygovind Gupta alias Monu and Amar Kumar Laxmanram Kohli, both residents of Uttarakhand. The third accused, Surendra Yadav, is a resident of Nalasopara. Along with the car, the total seizure was valued at ₹30.99 lakh.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (crime), Amar Jadhav, said, “Om Gupta and Amar Kohli were already wanted in a previous MD drug-manufacturing case registered in 2024 under sections 8(c) (prohibitions of operations regarding cultivating coca plant, cannabis plant, etc), 22(b) (c) (contravention involves quantity lesser than commercial quantity but greater than small quantity), and 29 (abetment) of the NDPS Act, involving another factory in Uttar Pradesh.”

The arrested accused were remanded to police custody until July 9 for further investigation.