Ahmedabad:

The Gujarat Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) conducted a raid at a mephedrone manufacturing unit in Thane district of neighbouring Maharashtra and seized liquid drug worth Rs 800 crore, an official said on Wednesday.

It also carried out a similar operation at a pharmaceutical factory in Bharuch district of Gujarat, where it recovered liquid Tramadol worth Rs 31 crore, he said.

During its operations conducted at both the places on August 5 and 6, the ATS arrested four persons who were involved in the production and sale of these narcotic substances which are banned under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, said Sunil Joshi, Deputy Inspector General of Police, ATS.

Based on a specific tip-off, an ATS team raided an apartment in Bhiwandi town of Maharashtra on August 5 and arrested Mohammad Yunus Shaikh (41) and his brother Mohammad Adil Shaikh (34) with nearly 800 kilograms of mephedrone (MD drug) in liquid form and worth Rs 800 crore in the international market, he told reporters.

“Our probe revealed that the two brothers had rented the flat nearly eight months ago to manufacture mephedrone using various chemicals. Their earlier batch failed but this batch was almost ready and the process to produce the final product in powder form was on when the raid was conducted,” Mr Joshi said.

On July 18, the ATS had busted a mephedrone manufacturing unit in Palsana area of Surat city and seized drugs and raw material worth Rs 51.4 crore, he said, adding that three persons were also arrested from the spot.

During their interrogation, the trio revealed that Shaikh brothers from Maharashtra were also part of the drug cartel, he said.

In another operation, the agency raided a pharmaceutical unit in Dahej industrial area of Bharuch district and arrested two persons with liquid Tramadol worth Rs 31 crore, Mr Joshi said.

Tramadol, an opioid pain medication, was notified as a psychotropic substance under the NDPS Act in 2018 and its export is restricted.

The arrested persons were identified as Pankaj Rajput and Nikhil Kapuria.

Investigations revealed that Rajput works as a chief chemist at that factory, where pharmaceuticals are produced as per order, while Kapuria is the owner of a chemical trading firm.

“Kapuria had convinced Rajput to produce Tramadol. They acquired the raw material from a firm in Ahmedabad, whose owner is Harshad Kukadiya. After preparing the liquid Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient (API), the duo used to send the liquid to Kukadiya. With the help of his aides, Kukadiya used to send the liquid to a factory in Gandhinagar to prepare Tramadol tablets,” Joshi said.

While Rajput and Kapuria have been arrested, efforts are on to nab others who were involved in this racket, he said.

On July 29, the Customs department had seized at Mundra port in Gujarat’s Kutch district 68 lakh Tramadol tablets worth Rs 110 crore from two export containers destined for the West African countries of Sierra Leone and Niger.

Interrogation of the arrested accused revealed that the seized tablets were prepared by them and sent to Mundra for export, Joshi said.

Notably, Tramadol has gained notoriety in recent times as the ‘fighter drug’ after it was reported that ISIS fighters consume it to stay awake for long hours.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Saturday said that election-time seizures have reached Rs 8,889 crore, with drugs comprising 45 per cent of the total.

“Enhanced vigil against inducements, including drugs and psychotropic substances, has resulted in big seizure actions and a continuous surge. Drug seizures have been maximum. Regular follow-ups and reviews of districts and agencies in areas of expenditure monitoring, precise data interpretation and active participation of enforcement agencies have led to this significant spurt in seizures since March 1,” the poll body said

The seizure of drugs, liquor, precious metals, freebies, and cash influences elections in varying degrees, some flowing directly as inducement while others through reduced levels of circulation of money.

The Commission, led by CEC Rajiv Kumar along with ECs Gyanesh Kumar and Sukhbir Singh Sandhu, held meetings with the DG, Narcotics Control Bureau, to take up analytics-based proactive action for ensuring action by dedicated Nodal Officers of NCB.

Similarly, active involvement of the DRI, Indian Coast Guard, state police and other agencies was ensured during the ongoing elections. All these measures have led to significant seizures in the two months since the announcement of the polls.

“With the increasing intensity of campaigning in the last three phases, the Commission is keeping close tabs on attempts at influencing voters through inducements and has directed the CEOs and enforcement agencies to step up the vigil. The crusade against drugs and other inducements by the Commission will continue,” it added.

The EC stated that the Gujarat ATS, NCB and Indian Coast Guard, in joint operations, have made three high-value seizures of drugs in just three days, amounting to Rs 892 crore.

“These elections have witnessed a series of targeted actions against the menace of drugs. Other states apart from Gujarat, Maharashtra and Delhi have also shown seizures of drugs. On 17.04.2024 Noida Police busted drug factory in Greater Noida wherein 26.7 kg of MDMA drug valued at Rs. 150 Crore were seized and two persons of foreign origin were arrested. The seizures in other cohorts have equally been impressive and surpasses the entire seizures of 2019 Parliamentary Elections by a big margin. Meticulous and exhaustive planning stands at its base,” it stated.

Real-time reporting of interceptions and seizures under the Election Seizure Management System (ESMS)- an in-house app, has resulted in quick, regular and precise reviews on expenditure monitoring. In addition, 656 Expenditure observers deployed for Parliamentary Constituencies and 125 expenditure observers are also keeping a close tab on check posts, functioning of ground level teams and are actively monitoring to ensure that citizens are not put to discomfort in the process of monitoring.

A close vigil is also kept in 123 Parliamentary Constituencies which are marked as expenditure-sensitive constituencies for more focused vigil.

The process of motivating agencies and having an active interface started in full force during the last quarter of 2023. In the first two months of the calendar year, already Rs. 6760 crore worth of drugs were seized, which conveyed a message that the Commission has a ‘zero-tolerance’ approach to any form of inducement that may influence the voters.

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

Champhai, Miozram:

 A woman from Myanmar was arrested and heroin worth Rs 1.04 crore was recovered in Champhai by Assam Rifles on Wednesday.

“In yet another success in its crusade against smuggling activities, Assam Rifles under the aegis of Inspector General Assam Rifles (East), recovered 149 gms of heroin worth Rs 1.04 Cr in general area Mualkawi, Champhai on October 4 and arrested a Myanmar woman,” said a press release.

The operation was carried out by a combined team of Assam Rifles in Champhai and Customs Preventive Force, Champhai based on specific information.

The entire consignment of Heroin worth Rs 1,04,30,000 (Rupees One crore four lakh thirty thousand) and the accused have been handed over to Customs Preventive Force, Champhai for further legal proceedings.

The ongoing smuggling of contraband items is a major cause of concern for the state of Mizoram and India.

Assam Rifles rightly christened as the ‘Sentinels of Northeast’ have continued their efforts against illegal smuggling and have also doubled their efforts to nab the kingpins of the smuggling of contraband items in Mizoram.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)