Meth lab busted in Chennai's Kodungaiyur, four engineering graduates among seven held

Suspects brought in MSc Chemistry student for assistance; parents not aware of activities
Meth lab busted in Chennai's Kodungaiyur, four engineering graduates among seven held
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CHENNAI: Taking a cue from Walter White, a character immortalised by Bryan Cranston in the classic TV series Breaking Bad, a gang of seven men had been running a chemical laboratory out of a house at Kodungaiyur to allegedly prepare methamphetamine. City police busted the illegally-run lab on Tuesday and arrested seven people, including four engineering graduates.

As much as 250 gm of the drug, two mobile phones, a weighing machine, test tubes, test tube holders, pipettes, burettes, raw chemicals stored in glass jars, and other equipment were seized from the house. A police source said the lab was busted after nearly two months of investigation and inquiry with at least 150 drug suppliers by the intelligence unit dedicated to anti-drug operations. The police team raided the Kodungaiyur house following a tip-off.

The arrested men were identified as Fleming Francis (21) of Teynampet, Naveen (22) of Poonamallee, Pravin Pranav (21) of Kodungaiyur, Kishore (21) and Gnanapandian (22) of Nandiambakkam, Arunkumar (22) of Kodungaiyur, and Dhanush (23) of Manali. Police said while Gnanapandian is pursuing MSc in Chemistry at a college in Nungambakkam, Pravin, Kishore, Naveen, and Dhanush have secured a degree in robotics engineering.

Inquiries revealed that Gnanapandian was brought into the ‘operation’ by the other suspects owing to his knowledge of chemicals. Based on his instructions, the others would procure chemicals and apparatus required to manufacture the drug. They obtained some of the chemicals from chemists and pharmaceutical firms in Parrys, and others online, a police source said.

Only after further investigation, the entire scope of the setup and their operation can be ascertained. The police are also inquiring how the youth managed to keep their parents in the dark about their illegal activities. The police suspect that a few others could also be involved in the case. Some of the suspects could be residing in cities of neighbouring states, the source added.

26 gm of meth seized, three men arrested

Chennai: Three men were arrested by Arumbakkam police for allegedly possessing 25.92 gm of meth. While two of them were arrested on Sunday, an absconding accused was arrested on Tuesday. Based on a tip-off, the police conducted searches near Arumbakkam on Sunday. They spotted S Arun Kumar (28) and S Siddharth (28) in the area, and questioned them. Upon searching the duo, the police allegedly found 25.92 gm of meth in their possession. Three mobile phones and a weighing machine were also seized from them. Based on further inquiry, the police also arrested R Deepak Raj (25) on Tuesday in connection with the drug seizure. ENS

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