Ahmedabad: The Gujarat Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) and Daman police arrested a history-sheeter and seized 5.9 kg of mephedrone worth ₹30 crore after raiding a clandestine factory in Daman, a Union Territory, and a storage facility in Gujarat’s Vapi, police said on Friday.
Mohan Narayanlal Paliwal, a known offender, was arrested during Thursday’s raid, while two others — Mehul Thakur and Vivek Balendra Rai — remain at large, a police officer said, adding that all three are residents of Vapi in Valsad district. “During the raid, authorities disrupted an active mephedrone production process at the Daman farmhouse, seizing 5.9 kg of mephedrone in solid and liquid forms from the Vapi bungalow, along with 300 kg of raw materials and equipment like grinders, motors, glass flasks, and heaters,” an officer said.
The trio was allegedly manufacturing mephedrone at a farmhouse near Bamanpuja in Daman, behind an excise checkpoint, and storing it in a bungalow owned by Manoj Singh Thakur in Vapi’s Chala area, for distribution to Mumbai, according to police officers.
Paliwal, who had previously been arrested in two cases under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, was on the run after jumping parole, a senior Gujarat ATS officer said. “Interrogation revealed that he, along with Thakur and Rai, had been operating the illicit setup for three to four months, producing the drug at the Daman site and storing it in Vapi for sale. Paliwal provided key details during questioning,” he said.
{{/usCountry}}Paliwal, who had previously been arrested in two cases under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, was on the run after jumping parole, a senior Gujarat ATS officer said. “Interrogation revealed that he, along with Thakur and Rai, had been operating the illicit setup for three to four months, producing the drug at the Daman site and storing it in Vapi for sale. Paliwal provided key details during questioning,” he said.
{{/usCountry}}“The seized raw materials, valued at ₹50–60 lakhs, had the potential to produce an additional 20–30 kg of mephedrone. The accused were planning to establish a larger manufacturing facility in the region, but authorities apprehended them before they could execute their plans,” he added.
A case has been registered against all three accused at the ATS police station in Ahmedabad, with investigations underway to trace their sales network, financial dealings, and potential cartel links.
The accused have been booked under various offences under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, including Section 21 (punishment for manufacturing and possessing psychotropic substances), Section 22 (penalties for psychotropic substance offenses), and Section 29 (abetment and conspiracy in drug-related crimes), for offences involving the illegal production, possession, storage, and intended trafficking of the banned synthetic stimulant.