Mumbai: 240 chemical firms being probed in drug haul case

The role of other firms emerged after the arrest of Jitendra Vora, the director of Namau Chem

Following the Rs 2,500-crore drug haul in August, 240 chemical companies in the city have come under the scanner of the Anti-Narcotics Cell (ANC). The agency shared the firms' details with the police after arresting the director of a leading chemical company.

Jitendra Vora, the director of Namau Chem Pvt Ltd has a degree in BSc Chemistry and over 30 years of work experience. Prem Prakash Singh, the prime accused arrested in August, "took Vora's help to make synthetic drugs in huge quantities at Namau Chem, and he was getting a lot of monetary benefits," said Datta Nalwade, deputy commissioner of police, ANC. Sources said Singh, who has done MSc in Organic Chemistry, came in touch with Vora in 2017, and in 2019, he told him about huge profits in the mephedrone business.

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The ANC officers have learnt that from January 2020 to November 2020, around 832 kg of mephedrone, worth Rs 1,600 crore, were manufactured at Namau Chem. Singh paid Vora about Rs 40-Rs 50 lakh, but the two dispute over money, following which the former relocated to Gujarat, they said.

During the investigation, the ANC seized cash receipts made for calcium chloride, which the company never manufactured.

The ANC has arrested eight suspects, including Vora. It had earlier arrested Vora's manager following the seizure of 450 grams of MD and eight chemicals used in the making of synthetic drugs found at Namau Chem. In all, it has seized over 1,200 kg of mephedrone worth about Rs 2,500 crore.