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.)