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13 arrested from Gujarat, Rajasthan with drugs worth ₹230 crore
Raids were conducted on units located in Sirohi and Jodhpur in Rajasthan, Piplaj village in Gandhinagar and Bhaktinagar industrial area in Gujarat.
Ahmedabad: The Gujarat Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) and Narcotics Control Bureau conducted a joint operation arresting 13 persons across Gujarat and Rajasthan for allegedly possessing mephedrone valued at ₹230 crore, officials said.
Following a tip-off received by the ATS, raids were conducted on Friday as they suspected that Ahmedabad resident Manoharlal Enani and Kuldeepsinh Rajpurohit from Rajasthan had established mephedrone manufacturing units, officials said on Saturday.
"The ATS has recovered 22.028 kilograms of mephedrone and 124 kilograms of liquid mephedrone, collectively worth ₹230 crore. Rajpurohit was nabbed during the raid at Gandhinagar and Enani was held from Sirohi," according to a press release.
Raids were conducted on units located in Sirohi and Jodhpur in Rajasthan, as well as in Piplaj village in Gandhinagar and the Bhaktinagar industrial area of Amreli district in Gujarat, it said.
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The probe found that Enani was in jail for seven years after he was nabbed by DRI in 2015 for his involvement in the production of mephedrone at an industrial unit in Rajasthan.
The release stated that all the accused were linked and had been obtaining raw materials from a company in the Vapi industrial area of Valsad district.
Investigations are ongoing to determine the duration of their drug production, whether they have previous sales, and who else may have been involved in the entire operation, it added.
A total of 149 kgs of mephedrone or 'meow meow' (both in powder and liquid form), 50 kg ephedrine, and 200 litres of acetone was recovered from the three labs located in Bhinmal of Jalore district and Osian in Jodhpur district of Rajasthan and Gandhinagar in Gujarat, news agency PTI quoted an officer as saying.
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The teams of the two agencies were also raiding a similar lab in Amreli district of Gujarat and more recoveries are expected, it reported.
Mephedrone, also known as 4-methylmethcathinone, 4-MMC and 4-methylephedrone, is a synthetic stimulant and is also identified by its slang names --drone, M-CAT, white magic, meow meow, and bubble.
(With inputs from PTI)
