The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) has busted three labs manufacturing the banned drug mephedrone, popularly known as ‘meow meow’, in Gujarat and Rajasthan, and arrested seven people in connection with the matter. The anti-drugs agency has seized narcotics worth approximately Rs 300 crore.
The labs were busted after the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) of Gujarat Police received information from a confidential source regarding the labs operating in Gujarat and Rajasthan, producing the drug mephedrone.
To bust these labs, a joint team of ATS Gujarat police and NCB Headquarters Operations unit was constituted. They maintained intensive technical and ground surveillance to identify the people involved in the racket and the locations of the labs in an operation that spanned over three months.
Around 4 am on Saturday, the Gujarat Police ATS and NCB conducted simultaneous raids in Bhinmal (Jalore district) and Osian (Jodhpur district) in Rajasthan, and Gujarat’s Gandhinagar district under the operation Prayogsala-1.
During the multi-state raids, 149 kg of mephedrone (in powder and liquid form), 50 kg of ephedrine and 200 litres of acetone were seized from three labs. The kingpin of the network has been identified and will be arrested soon, the NCB said.
Another raid is ongoing in Gujarat’s Amreli where more recoveries are expected after the NCB questioned the arrested accused in Gandhinagar.
Efforts were underway to track and identify the source of precursor chemicals and the distribution network, national as well as any international linkages.
Source Agencies
