BSc grad who helped make MD held in Sangli

During inquiry, Parmar and Maskar told the ATS about Patil, a BSc graduate in Chemistry, who often visited Mumbai and knew how to make good quality MD.

The Maharashtra anti-terrorism squad (ATS) on Sunday arrested Sardar Patil, a 28-year-old BSc graduate from Sangli, the sixth member of a gang which produced and sold mephedrone (MD) in the city and other districts in the state. The officials also recovered 2.6kg MD from Mumbai.

Parmar and Maskar had been running the Panvel lab for more than six months and changed their location every six months to avoid getting caught. Maskar is also into real estate business. (HT FILE)

On September 10, ATS officials of the Vikroli unit had raided a drug lab in an industrial area in Panvel and arrested five accused including business partners Naresh Maskar, 45, and Jitendra Parmar alias Asif, 45, who ran the lab. They had recovered 129kg MD and ₹1.5 crore cash, totalling amounting to ₹53 crore, from the accused.

During inquiry, Parmar and Maskar told the ATS about Patil, a BSc graduate in Chemistry, who often visited Mumbai and knew how to make good quality MD, said an official. A police team arrested Patil from Sangli. He was brought to Mumbai on Sunday morning and remanded in police custody till September 19. “We’ve been questioning to find other distributors who helped the accused. Patil’s interrogation is going on and will help us,” the official said.

Parmar and Maskar had been running the Panvel lab for more than six months and changed their location every six months to avoid getting caught. Maskar is also into real estate business.

The duo had hired two other arrested accused, Abdul Razzak Kadar Shaikh, 47, and Irfan Badar Shaikh, 43, to deliver MD. The fifth arrested accused is Suleman Jauhar Shaikh, 28. Abdul, who lived in Saudi Arabia and came to Mumbai a year ago, did not have job, so he started delivering MD. As Parmar needed another person, he introduced Irfan, a driver, to him.