Maharashtra: Factories, bungalows, flats, slums...there’s an MD lab everywhere

After a crackdown on a mephedrone MD racket in a Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation MIDC area in Solapur where abandoned factories provided ample cover for shady activities production of the narcotic has expanded to Thane Palghar Pune Sangli and other districts where deserted units are being used to crank out drugsNarcotics are also being produced at clandestine locations such as bungalows row houses and even regular houses in Mumbai neighbourhoods making it harder for authorities to disrupt the supply chainIn 2016 the Thane police conducted its first raid at a Solapur MIDC area and recovered 18627 kg of ephedrine worth Rs 2000 crore ldquoIf we add some chemical to ephedrine highquality MD can be preparedrdquo said a police officer Major figures like Vicky Goswami Kailash Rajput and Kishore Rathod were booked in the case leading to the use of MIDC factories for making drugsrdquo the office saidThe Thane Crime Branch uncovered a factory nestled within a farmhouse in Varanasi Uttar Pradesh last monthldquoIn 2014 there was an increase in the use of MD and we found that it was exclusively used in Mumbra and other parts The drug was banned in foreign countries but was made easily available in the market Youngsters were curious about trying something new Seeing this we sought to include the drug in the NDPS Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act In February 2015 it came under its purviewrdquo said Parag Manare the thendeputy commissioner of police Thane Crime BranchFebruary seizureTwo months ago the authorities seized 1800 kg of MD in crackdowns carried out in Pune Sangli and Delhi after raiding a pharmaceutical plant and godown in Pune The cops learnt that the drugs had come from a factory at Kurkumbh MIDC Around five arrests have been made and the involvement of foreign nationals is being investigated ldquoWe had received a tipoff and the investigation led us to the Pune manufacturing unit where we seized around 1100 kg of MD The people arrested are just small players We are yet to nab the kingpins or manufacturers Small chemical factories have been set up with the help of socalled experts in the field The MIDC Food and Drug Administration and excise department should also ensure drugs donrsquot reach the market and syndicates are busted before theyrsquore establishedrdquo said Pune Commissioner of Police Amitesh KumarSangli operationThe Mumbai Crime Branchrsquos Unit 7 last month raided a factory in Sangli and seized around 126 kg of MD worth R252 crore as well as 25 gm of gold and a car In all around 10 people including a woman were arrested Raids were then conducted in Mira Road and Surat to choke the supply chain ldquoDuring the investigation we learnt that Pravin Shinde 37 a high school dropout and a resident of Sangli had been producing MD for the past four years and was working in the Sanglibased factory for the past seven months where he was overseeing production and sales Around R346 crore in cash was seized from his Bhiwandi residence He confessed that the cash was earned from the sale of drugs and we suspect he bought his house with his illgotten wealthrdquo said Datta Nalawade deputy commissioner of police Mumbai Crime BranchIn October 2023 the Mumbai Crime Branch cracked down on an MD racket operating from an abandoned factory in Solapurrsquos Chincholi MIDCShinde told the police that he had learned to manufacture MD in Varanasi ldquoAfter this he went to Sangli to start the factory He was all responsible for supplying it to Mumbai and other parts of the staterdquo said a police officerAccording to the officials from antidrug agencies as news of the raid spread other factories operating in the region vanished overnight and their setups popped up in the remote districts of the stateFactory unitsAfter scrutinising past MD cases the police found that only a few individuals were arrested and the larger supply chain remained undisclosed The police decided to change their approach by aiming to arrest more suspects to build cases involving commercial quantities of the drugIn this matter the police were able to gather leads that eventually pointed towards the existence of manufacturing facilities which often operate in MIDC areasIt was found that fake documents and leases are used to ensure that production is not impeded The actual owners of some of these factories which are abandoned were often unaware of the illegal activities occurring on their premisesOverall the authoritiesrsquo strategy involves a combination of proactive policing strategic planning and collaborative efforts across law enforcement agencies to disrupt the supply chain of illegal narcotics2023 raidIn October 2023 the Mumbai Crime Branch raided the Chincholi MIDC in Solapur and found that the factory had been abandoned for many years ldquoThe factory was rented out to the accused who had fake documents The suspects had told the owner they planned to run a chemical unit When the police interrogated the owner he said the factory was not in use The accused were paying him handsomely and he decided to let them use the facility without actually seeing what is going on inside itrdquo said an officer stating that a similar factory was later busted by the Solapur police at the Mohar Chandramoli MIDCDaya Nayak senior police inspector Mumbai Crime Branch said ldquoInitially we caught a supplier with 4 kg of MD in Mumbai We then raided the factory in Solapur where it was manufacturedrdquoHidden in plain sightMD production also occurs in the densely populated residential areas of south Mumbai even in proximity to law enforcers such as the Dongri policeIn January 2021 the NCB busted a syndicate of drug manufacturers Parvez Khan alias Chinku Pathan and Arif Bhujwala who were involved in setting up MD manufacturing facilities in their respective south Mumbai residences Pathanrsquos factory had cavities and other storage areasBhujwalarsquos residence in Noor Manzil was just 700 metres away from the Dongri police stationIn January 2024 the Malwani police busted a homebased drug manufacturing lab in Kandivli West operated by a BHMS dropout Noor Alam Mohammad Alam Chaudhary 24 The police seized drugs raw material and equipment worth R117 croreFarmhouses and hamletsIn December 2023 the antinarcotic cell of Navi Mumbai Crime Branch busted a factory that was run from a farmhouse in Khopoli The team arrested six and seized MD worth R539 crore along with raw materials worth R45000 The police also seized 33 litres of chemicals and 25 kg of powder from the accusedThe Thane Crime Branchrsquos Unit 1 in March uncovered a clandestine MD factory nestled within a farmhouse in Varanasi Uttar Pradesh The investigation commenced with the arrest of an individual found in possession of 15 gm of MD in Thane The Crime Branch eventually apprehended six suspects associated with the illegal operation and seized MD valued at Rs 2778 crore along with raw materials worth approximately Rs 862 lakhDrug manufacturing units have also sprung up in villages Recently Crime Branch sleuths of Mira Bhayandar Vasai Virar MBVV police had busted a huge factory which was setup at a remote village in Mokhada taluka of Palghar district The mastermind Sameer Pinjar 45 drew inspiration from a webseries Sources said he had been sourcing key chemicals from China via courierldquoThe production of MD emits a distinct odour prompting drug traffickers to approach owners of operational chemical factories They entice them to lease the space for short durations to mitigate suspicion ensuring that any emanating odours during the production of MD donrsquot raise alarm among localsrdquo said apolice officerThe law enforcers had been visiting the operational chemical factories to get its employeesrsquo strength their nature of work the number of shifts what kind of chemicals are used in the factory etc ldquoBut the officers got engaged in election duty and we had to leave it midway Once the elections are over we will complete the workrdquo the officer addedThe polling duty of police apparently gave a lifeline for traffickers to produce more MD Many believe that the drug menace is likely to intensify in Maharashtra but the statersquos top polling officer Shrikant Deshpande recently said in Kolhapur that Central and state agencies will keep a strict vigil to contain the threatOfficialSpeakSatish Malu president of Krishna Valley Chamber of Industries and Commerce Kupwad MIDC Sangli said ldquoDr Raja Dayanidhi the collector of Sangli district has organised a meeting with the members of the association He warned owners that before renting factories or industries whether they are vacant or in use documents should be verified and procedures involving the police followed He explained how people working with us sometimes for a few extra bucks do illegal things and get us into trouble We should always be aware of such people and take proper action or inform the police about themrdquoAn NCB officer said ldquoRaids are not the only option to curb the menace Awareness in rural areas especially near factory and industrial areas is a must Many villagers are not even aware of mephedrone and other drugsrdquoRs 252 crValue of MD seized from Sangli factory last monthRs 2000 crValue of ephedrine seized in 2016 raid