Man held by ATS was key witness in 2015 DRI drug seizure

Sardar Patil, known in circles as the ‘Doctor’, was arrested by Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) for allegedly producing mephedrone drug in labs at Panvel

Sardar Patil, known in circles as the ‘Doctor’, was arrested by Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) for allegedly producing mephedrone drug in labs at Panvel and Sangli which were raided last week.

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This was not the first time Patil is involved in a drug case. In 2015 he was deposed as a witness in the biggest drug seizure case involving Omkar Industries at Sangli. The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) in collaboration with Pune customs department had conducted a raid at Omkar Industries, arrested its owner Ravindra Konduskar and recovered 350kg of mephedrone. Patil had been working in the factory as a production supervisor and his evidence had enabled the investigators to nail Konduskar, who has been in jail since then.

Patil, a science graduate in chemistry, acquired preliminary knowledge to produce mephedrone, during his work at Omkar Industries. He later started his own lab after he was approached by two of the co-accused Jitendra Parmar and Maskar, a year back.

“We have been questioning Patil whether he was a partner in the business and took some percentage of the profits or did he get a monthly salary. He is not revealing much in the inquiry,” said an ATS officer.