Police raids in Pune and Delhi led to the biggest-ever drug seizure of 1,100 kg synthetic stimulant drug mephedrone estimated to be worth more than Rs 2,000 crore. Three people were arrested by the Pune Police in connection with the drug seizure, officials said on Tuesday.
The three persons arrested in connection with the biggest-ever drug seizure by the Pune police were booked under relevant sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act (NDPS Act), officials said, adding the two other men are being questioned.
The synthetic stimulant drug mephedrone is also known by the slang names 'drone', 'M-CAT', 'White Magic', 'meow meow' and 'bubble'.
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Pune police commissioner Amitesh Kumar said 700 kg of mephedrone (also known as MD) was seized from different locations in Pune district, including the Kurkumbh MIDC area on the city's outskirts, after the arrest of the trio on Sunday and their subsequent interrogation.
Based on inputs provided by the accused, the Pune police on Tuesday evening seized another 400 kg of mephedrone from two godown-like structures in South Delhi, taking the total amount of seizure of the drug to a whopping 1100 kg.
The value of the contraband was estimated to be more than Rs 2,000 crore, a police officer said, adding that the process of seizure was still going on.
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The officer said preliminary investigations have revealed mephedrone was transported from the Kurkumbh MIDC-based units and stored at the godowns in New Delhi, a news agency PTI report mentioned.
"We have already arrested three people who worked as couriers. Two more people have been apprehended and their interrogation was on," the report quoted the crime branch officer as saying.
Biggest-Ever Drug Recovery
The officer said this was the biggest-ever drug recovery in Maharashtra by the Pune police and one of the largest seizures in the country. "Investigations are going on a war footing. Upward and downward linkages are being probed and our teams are working in close coordination with other agencies," Police Commissioner Kumar said.
Asked about background of the arrested accused, the officer said they were primarily acting as "courier boys" and had some offences registered against them.
Asked if drug racketeer Lalit Patil was anyway related to the narcotics haul, he said as of now no link has come to light.
Last year, Lalit Patil emerged as the kingpin of a drug racket that was busted by the police in Mumbai in a two-month-long operation, which included seizure of mephedrone worth about Rs 300 crore and a raid at a drug manufacturing unit in Maharashtra's Nashik.
Patil had escaped from a government hospital in Pune, but was later arrested.
