HYDERABAD: The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) officials nabbed four persons for possessing narcotic substances. The officials seized 142.6 kg of Mephedrone worth Rs 28.52 crore, 31 kg of Ephedrine worth of Rs 3.1 crore and raw materials worth Rs 50 crore. On a tip-off, a consignment sent from Hyderabad was intercepted at Mumbai. The Mephedrone consignment was loaded in a private passenger bus as cargo. There was no one accompanying the cargo, to ensure that even if the consignment was caught, no individuals could be linked to it.
However, in a series of swift follow-up raids, the recipients of the consignment in Mumbai were identified and their premises including a drug manufacturing laboratory located in a residential premises was raided by DRI. The officials recovered Mephedrone and Ketamine ready to be distributed, in addition to samples of other psychotropic substances, clearly indicating a sophisticated distribution network both within the country and abroad as well.
In a three-day long operation held in Mumbai and Hyderabad, DRI officials seized a huge quantity of banned drugs. The mastermind was arrested in Hyderabad and two others were arrested in Mumbai. The mastermind is a past offender and was earlier arrested by the DRI in 2017 under the provisions of the NDPS Act.