Ahmedabad: Across a combined operation, the Gujarat Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) and the Narcotics Control Bureau detained 13 people across Gujarat and Rajasthan on suspicion of having mephedrone worth ₹230 crore.
Raids were carried out on Friday after the ATS received a tip, with the suspicion being that Manoharlal Enani, a resident of Ahmedabad, and Kuldeepsinh Rajpurohit, a resident of Rajasthan, had set up mephedrone production operations, officials said on Saturday. A total of ₹230 crore worth of mephedrone, totaling 22.028 kilos and 124 kilograms of liquid mephedrone, have been recovered by the ATS. A press announcement stated that Enani was detained from Sirohi and that Rajpurohit was captured during the raid at Gandhinagar.
According to the statement, raids were carried out on units in the Gujarati districts of Amreli and Bhaktinagar, as well as in the Rajasthani cities of Jodhpur and Sirohi. According to the investigation, Enani spent seven years behind bars after being apprehended by DRI in 2015 for his role in the manufacturing of mephedrone at a Rajasthani industrial facility. According to the press announcement, all of the accused were connected to one another and had been buying raw materials from a business in the Valsad district's Vapi industrial region.
It further stated that investigations are still underway to find out how long they have been producing drugs, whether they have ever sold anything, and who else might have been involved in the whole thing.
Three labs in Bhinmal of the Jalore district, Osian in the Jodhpur district of Rajasthan, and Gandhinagar in Gujarat were found to have 149 kg of mephedrone, or "meow meow" (both in powder and liquid form), 50 kg of ephedrine, and 200 litres of acetone, according to a news agency report quoting an officer.
It was stated that troops from both agencies were also storming a similar lab in Gujarat's Amreli region, and more recoveries were anticipated.
Mephedrone is a synthetic stimulant also referred to as 4-methylmethcathinone, 4-MMC, and 4-methylephedrone. It is also known by its colloquial names, drone, M-CAT, white magic, meow meow, and bubble.
