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Meth lab bust: Police trace raw material came from Delhi, Haryana
Police will appeal at the district court for police custody remand (PCR) of the four suspects, who are in judicial custody, in order to interrogate them
Investigation into the meth laboratory that was busted in Greater Noida on Wednesday has found several links to factories Delhi and Haryana, where some of the banned raw materials were manufactured, senior officials investigating the case said on Friday.
Four Nigerian nationals -- identified as Ifeanyi Johnbosco, Chidi, Emmenuel, and Onyekechi, all aged between 30 to 35 years -- were arrested by the Greater Noida police on Wednesday for allegedly running a meth lab out of a residential house in Omicron-1 sector.
Officials said 26 kilos of meth, estimated to be worth ₹100 crore in the international market, was seized from the house. Several raw material, apparatus and chemicals were also recovered from the house, which investigators claimed could have been used to produce meth worth about ₹50 crore. This was the third such bust by police in the district in the last one year.
“Among the recoveries made from the house, was ephedrine in its crystal (33 kilograms) and powder (two kilograms) form. The sale of ephedrine is banned in India as it can be synthesised to produce the recreational drug methamphetamine (MDMA) or meth. However, its controlled manufacturing as a bulk drug for pharmaceutical use is legal in India. Investigators are focusing on where the suspects procured this drug from,” said SM Khan, deputy commissioner of police, Greater Noida.
Read Here: Secluded, independent houses in Greater Noida being used as drug factories, say Police
He said so far, they have found links to chemical factories in Delhi and Haryana.
“While we cannot divulge details on the locations of these factories, it has come to fore that the suspects used to procure ephedrine from two factories in Delhi and Haryana. We are developing further information on this and more arrests are likely in this case,” said the officer.
Police said in the rent agreement for the house where the meth lab was functioning, were the names of two foreign women.
“The rent agreement does not mention any of the four arrested suspects, whereas, it has been done in the name of two Nigerian women. The landlord has been called for questioning regarding the same, as we have reason to believe that these two names may be fictitious, which again raises questions on the intention of the landlord,” said Khan.
He added that the police will appeal at the district court for police custody remand (PCR) of the four suspects, who are in judicial custody, in order to interrogate them.
