Maharashtra drug haul: Probe on to find out who trained, funded accused

The raw materials and chemicals found could have been used to make 65 kg of Mephedrone worth Rs13 crore

The police, who raided a Mephedrone (MD) manufacturing unit in Palghar on Friday and seized MD worth Rs18 lakh, said they are interrogating the four men they arrested to find out who taught them how to make MD and who gave them funds.

The police seized 900g of MD worth Rs18 lakh and equipment and chemicals worth Rs41.02 lakh. (HT)

The police got a tip-off about the unit when they arrested Nadeem Nasir Shaikh, 27, from Andheri on August 21. The man was nabbed with 1kg MD worth Rs20 lakh. Based on his interrogation, three men were arrested in a joint operation by the Amboli and Dahanu police. The police seized 900g of MD worth Rs18 lakh and equipment and chemicals worth Rs41.02 lakh.

A police official said, “We are interrogating the accused to find out who taught them how to make the drugs, who funded their criminal activities and if they supplied MD out of Maharashtra too.” One of the accused — Sanyal Bane alias Sunny, 33 — is a Dahanu resident and a science graduate but a police official said they suspect he has received training from someone on how to make the drugs.

Police said the unit, was in a residential area, which belongs to one of Chowdhary’s friends, who lived with her children in a room adjacent to the one where the drug was being made. Police found a 50-metre-long pipe in the room, which released smoke into the field. “We found Rs65,000 in cash and large quantities of raw materials and chemicals including acetone, hydrochrolic acid, aluminum chloride, sulphuric acid and plastic soda. The seized materials could have been used to create 65 kg of MD worth Rs13 crore,” said Manjunath Singe, superintendent of police, Palghar.