Gujarat ATS busts illegal Alprazolam manufacturing facility in Rajasthan, arrests 3

The raid was conducted by a joint team comprising the Gujarat ATS, the Rajasthan Special Operations Group, and the district police on December 28.

Published on: Dec 29, 2025, 17:22:27 IST

By Maulik Pathak

Prefer HTon Google

Share via

Copy link

AHMEDABAD: The Gujarat Anti-Terrorism Squad has busted a factory in Rajasthan’s Bhiwadi industrial area for illegally making drugs such as Alprazolam, a psychotropic drug prescribed for anxiety and panic disorders, police said on Monday.

The raid was conducted by a joint team comprising the Gujarat ATS, the Rajasthan Special Operations Group, and the district police on December 28. Police said the search at the facility in the RIICO Industrial Area of Bhiwadi in Tapukara taluka led to the seizure of around 5 kg of Alprazolam and nearly 17 kg of a mixture of Prazepam and Temazepam.

A case has been registered at Bhiwadi Phase-3 (UIT) Sector-3 police station under Sections 8 and 22 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act.

“Three persons were arrested on the spot. They have been identified as Anshul Anilkumar Shastri, 40, a resident of Agra in Uttar Pradesh, Akhilesh Parasnath Maurya, 41, and Krishnakumar Shrei Yadav, 33, both residents of Tapukara in Rajasthan,” the ATS said.

Citing a preliminary inquiry, police said Shastri operated a firm named Ansh Trading, through which raw materials were allegedly procured for the illegal manufacture of Alprazolam. Shastri and Maurya allegedly handled the procurement and logistics, while Yadav oversaw the production at the Bhiwadi facility.

The medicines were allegedly supplied to a person identified as Sunny Yadav.

Police said further investigation is underway to determine how long the operation had been ongoing, the supply network, the money trail, and the possible involvement of other persons.

Earlier this month, Gujarat ATS also arrested six persons after busting a mephedrone manufacturing unit in Rajasthan’s Jodhpur district, and seized 40 kg of liquid mephedrone.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Maulik Pathak
He is an Ahmedabad-based journalist with more than two decades of experience. His career spans business journalism and general news, with reporting across politics, crime, governance, public policy, business, industry, infrastructure, energy, ports, aviation, the environment, wildlife and social issues. He began his career in feature writing before moving into business journalism, reporting on companies and sectors including energy, infrastructure, pharmaceuticals, automobiles and real estate. Over the years, his work expanded to politics, courts, crime, public policy, civic affairs, the environment and wildlife. His reporting has taken him from government offices and courtrooms to factory floors, ports, forests and remote villages, covering stories that range from industrial investments and financial markets to elections, conservation and issues affecting everyday life. While many assignments demand the pace of the daily news cycle, others require sustained reporting over months and years to follow developments beyond the headlines. He started his journalism career with the Asian Age in Ahmedabad in 2002 as a feature writer and sub-editor. Since 2022, he has been working with Hindustan Times. Earlier, he worked with Business Standard, DNA, The Economic Times, Mint and The Times of India. His longest stint was with Mint, where he spent more than eight years reporting across multiple beats. During his career, he has worked in both reporting and editing roles, contributing to page planning, local editions and special editorial projects as newsrooms evolved from print-first operations to digital publishing. Early in his career, he also worked on media and documentary projects with an NGO and as a copywriter at a communications agency before returning to journalism. Away from work, he sometimes makes time for a pair of binoculars, table tennis, cinema and the occasional poem.Read More

Follow India news real-time updates and the latest news covered on Hindustan Times, featuring today's critical updates on Sonam Wangchuk LIVE and more across India.