Police gets remand custody of four foreigners in meth lab bust case, to use translators for interrogation

On May 17, the police uncovered a meth lab that had been established and run by foreign nationals in a three-story residential building in Greater Noida

The Gautam Budh Nagar police on Monday got the remand custody of four suspects of African origin who were arrested last week for operating a meth lab in Greater Noida, police said. The police anticipate that valuable information can be extracted from these suspects during the course of their interrogation while in remand custody.

This operation had gone unnoticed for at least a year, resulting in the arrest of total of nine Nigerian men and one person from Senegal. (Representative Image)

On May 17, the police uncovered a meth lab that had been established and run by foreign nationals in a three-story residential building in Greater Noida. This operation had gone unnoticed for at least a year, resulting in the arrest of total of nine Nigerian men and one person from Senegal.

Forty-six kilograms of methamphetamine (MDMA) were seized from the residence, and the street value of the drugs is estimated to be around ₹200 crore in the international market. Furthermore, reagents and chemicals used in the production of drugs, worth an additional ₹100 crore, were also discovered, making this one of the largest drug seizures in the state.

The substances involved, commonly referred to as meth or crystal meth, are powerful and highly addictive synthetic narcotics, specifically methamphetamine or MDMA drugs.

SM Khan, the Deputy Commissioner of Police in Greater Noida, stated, “Several questions and links pertaining to suppliers and distributors remain unclear at the moment. With the remand, our first priority is to determine how these individuals entered the country and whether they were residing illegally, as no documents have been found in their possession. We have been granted five days of remand for the four suspects.”

Additionally, police also said that once the suspects are interrogated, crucial information regarding the source of the raw materials, the supply chain, the customers involved, and the overall network will be unveiled. To aid in the interrogation process, a translator will be engaged, and the Nigerian and Senegalese embassies have been contacted for assistance, DCP Khan added.

According to the officials associated with the matter, the other six suspects are still in judicial custody. Initially, nine suspects were detained by the police, but an additional suspect was arrested later on the same day.