MUMBAI: An investigation into the seizure of just 112 grams of mephedrone (MD) from two men in Nalasopara has led the Mira Bhayandar-Vasai Virar (MBVV) crime branch to an illegal drug manufacturing unit in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh. Unit 4 of the crime branch raided the unit and seized 52.932 kg of MD, taking the total drug seized in the case to 69.759 kg, valued at around ₹100 crore in the illicit market.
The investigation, which began in June, has resulted in the arrest of 21 people across Maharashtra, Gujarat, and Uttar Pradesh.
The probe began on June 24, when police arrested Avinash alias Sonu Loknath Iyer, 22, and Ravikant Omprakash Ram, 23, both residents of Pragati Nagar in Nalasopara East, for allegedly possessing 112 grams of MD worth around ₹3.36 lakh.
Their interrogation helped police trace 19 more people from Mumbai and its suburbs, as well as parts of Uttar Pradesh, who were allegedly involved in the manufacture and distribution of the drug.
According to crime branch officers, the investigation found that Shan Irfan Ghazali, 30, a Colaba resident, and Shahnawaz Dilawar Khan alias Shanu, 29, from Kalyan, had set up an illegal MD manufacturing unit on agricultural land owned by another arrested accused, Jumma Thakra, in village Sandhan, Abdasa taluka, Kutch district, Gujarat. Police subsequently busted the unit.
The investigation also revealed that Aryan Sayyad, an alleged member of the Jalim gang, had gathered laboratory equipment and chemicals to set up another MD manufacturing unit at Neral in Raigad district. However, after allegedly learning about the impending police action, accused Zahid Shaikh alias Javed Bhai tried to dispose of the material by dumping it along the Virar-JNPT Expressway, before it was recovered by police.
{{/usCountry}}The investigation also revealed that Aryan Sayyad, an alleged member of the Jalim gang, had gathered laboratory equipment and chemicals to set up another MD manufacturing unit at Neral in Raigad district. However, after allegedly learning about the impending police action, accused Zahid Shaikh alias Javed Bhai tried to dispose of the material by dumping it along the Virar-JNPT Expressway, before it was recovered by police.
{{/usCountry}}Another accused, Haseeb Siddiqui alias Ijaz Merchant, was arrested from Kurla for allegedly selling MD in Mumbai and other places. Police seized 11.804 kg of MD and ₹18.70 lakh in cash from him.
Police said Siddiqui had also supplied MD in Jalgaon through Moinuddin Shaikh alias Moin and two others. A further 4.911 kg of MD was seized from them.
Technical analysis and interrogation of the accused eventually led investigators to Rajnish Mishra and Shivdhan Mishra, who allegedly supplied the drug. Police found that the MD was being manufactured in a tin shed on leased farmland at Kosada Kala, Manda, Meja tehsil, in Prayagraj district.
Consequently, the Unit 4 team raided the premises on August 25 and seized 52.932 kg of MD, 260 litres of chemicals used to manufacture the drug, including monomethylamine (MMA), acetone, hydrochloric acid and chloroform, and laboratory equipment.
The equipment included 250-litre and 150-litre flasks, heating mantles, dropping funnels and thermometers. The total seizure in the case now stands at 69.759 kg of MD, worth around ₹100 crore in the illicit market.
“We have destroyed an entire ring of drug manufacturing and supplying,” said Pramod Badak, senior police inspector of crime branch Unit 4.