Hyderabad, Dec 13 (Agency) The officials of Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) have busted clandestine narcotic manufacturing lab in the outskirts of the city. Acting on a tip-off that Mephedrone, a banned psychotropic substance under the provisions of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 (NDPS Act), was being handed over, officers of DRI intercepted the manufacturer and receiver during exchange and seized 3.156 kgs of Mephedrone, valued about Rs 63.12 Lakhs, a DRI release here said on Saturday.
Simultaneous search at manufacturer’s house resulted in seizure of cash of Rs 12.40 Lakhs and 112 grams of Mephedrone samples(of different purities) under the provisions of NDPS Act. Apart from the aforesaid drugs, raw materials which were procured for further manufacture of Mephedrone of around 219.5 Kgs, which are sufficient to manufacture another 15-20 Kgs of Mephedrone, were seized from the clandestine lab in the outskirts of Hyderabad. The manufacturer is a PhD in Chemistry and worked in the Pharma sector before breaking bad. Investigation reveals that a Mumbai-based network is behind the manufacture of Mephedrone in this case. Two persons including the mastermind were arrested on December 11, 2020 under the provisions of NDPS Act 1985. According to preliminary estimates, the person has manufactured and sold more than 100 Kgs of Mephedrone in the last one year. Mephedrone is a synthetic stimulant drug generally abused for recreation and popular among the urban college-going crowd. It is colloquially known as DRONE, Meow Meow, etc. and is known for its effects similar to that of MDMA, Amphetamines and Cocaine, the release added.