New Delhi:

Banned drug mephedrone worth Rs 300 crore has been seized during a raid in Maharashtra’s Sangli, officials said on Thursday. 

A whopping 140 kg of the mephedrone, which is commonly known as ‘Meow Meow’, was seized during a raid at a company in the Kupwad MIDC area.

Three people involved in the drug syndicate have been arrested, the official said.

Drugs worth Rs 3,700 crore have so far been recovered in the ongoing raids by Pune Police in different parts of the country.

Earlier on Wednesday, police said that they unearthed a staggering 1,100 kilograms of mephedrone with an estimated value exceeding Rs 2,500 crore in raids across Pune and Delhi.

The operation began with the arrest of three drug smugglers in Pune, accompanied by the seizure of 700 kg of mephedrone. The subsequent interrogation of these individuals led to the confiscation of an additional 400 kg of the synthetic stimulant from godown-like structures in Delhi’s Hauz Khas area.

Another large consignment of Mephedrone was stored in Pune, particularly in the Kurkumbh MIDC area.

According to Pune Police sources, the case will now be investigated from the terror funding angle.

Mumbai:

 The Mumbai police, which seized mephedrone worth Rs 300 crore in a two month-long operation, has arrested two persons in connection with the case, an official said on Friday.

The arrest includes that of a man who allegedly provided the formula for manufacturing the banned substance and the manpower to set up a factory in Maharashtra’s Nashik district, the official added.

With the latest arrests, the police have apprehended 18 persons for their involvement so far, he said.

A team from Saki Naka police arrested Harishchandra Pant from his native Dehradun in Uttarakhand on Thursday evening, the official said.

Pant used to stay in Vasai in neighbouring Palghar district, he added.

Besides Pant, police also arrested 30-year-old Amir Atique Khan from Kurla in the metropolis. He allegedly used to purchase huge quantities of mephedrone to sell in Mumbai, officials said.

Pant had allegedly provided the formula for manufacturing mephedrone in large quantities and had helped the other accused Lalit Patil and his brother Bhushan Patil to set up the factory, he said.

Pant was produced in court on Friday along with the other accused and has been remanded to police custody till October 30, the official said.

In an operation spanning two months, the police seized mephedrone worth Rs 300 crore, arrested various people from different cities and busted a drug manufacturing unit at Shindegaon MIDC industrial area in Nashik district on October 5.

The accused persons had rented the place to set up a manufacturing unit in the name of another person by informing the owner that they were going to establish an insecticide factory, he said.

Till date, 163.8 kilograms of mephedrone worth Rs 325 crore has been seized in the case, as per police.

According to officials, some of the arrested accused were also involved in the Chakan MIDC Pune drugs case.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Mumbai:

The Mumbai police has seized mephedrone worth Rs 300 crore and arrested 12 persons from several cities in an operation that was underway for the past few days, a senior official said on Friday.

He said 151.305 kilograms of mephedrone worth Rs 300.26 crore were seized after a factory was raided in MIDC Shinde Gaon in Nashik district.

A team from Saki Naka police station arrested 12 members of a syndicate from various parts of the metropolis as well as Hyderabad in Telangana and Nashik, he informed.

Mephedrone is a synthetic stimulant drug that is known by a variety of street names, including ‘meow meow’, white magic, bubble, m-cat etc.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)