In one of the biggest drug seizures in Maharashtra, mephedrone worth over Rs 100 crores have been caught in Solapur district after the police raided a manufacturing unit.
The unit located at Chincholi MIDC was running allegedly by two brothers– Rahul Kisan Gawali and his brother Atul– who were arrested from Mumbai’s western suburb of Khar with 5.09 kg of mephedrone worth Rs 10.17 crore.
Mephedrone, also known as ‘meow meow’ or MD, is a synthetic stimulant (a psychotropic substance) banned under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act.
As part of the investigation, the police found out that the due had set up three laboratories in Chincholi MIDC in Solapur district, an official said.
The police seized high-quality mephedrone worth Rs 16 crore, while the unprocessed drug is worth more than Rs 100 crore, he said, adding that a diary containing formulas used to make the contraband was also recovered from the premises.
The Gawali brothers, who had both failed Class 10, had worked in a chemical factory for a few years. Later, they rented a space to set up laboratories on a 21,000 sq ft area and have been operating the unit for the past seven months.
The official said the accused had come to Mumbai to distribute mephedrone a month ago and supplied it to local drug peddlers. A probe is underway to identify their aides, he said.
Incidentally, the police from Thane city had raided another factory in the area in 2016 and recovered drugs worth Rs 2,000 crore.
In September, the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) seized 200 kgs of Mephedrone from two locations in Pune.
In the last one year, Mephedrone worth crores of rupees have been seized from different parts of Maharashtra.
In one of Mumbai’s biggest drug hauls, more than 700 kilograms of mephedrone worth Rs 1,400 crore was seized by city police following a raid at a drug manufacturing unit at Nalasopara in Palghar district in August 2022.
(With PTI inputs)
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