Maharashtra: DRI Busts Mobile Mephedrone Lab in Poultry Farm, Rs 55 Crore Drugs Seized
Reported by Mubarak Ansari
Satara, 25th January 2026: The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) has busted a clandestine mobile mephedrone manufacturing laboratory in the remote Sahyadri ranges under an operation codenamed Operation Sahyadri Checkmate.
The illegal unit was designed to evade detection by frequently shifting locations. After sustained surveillance, DRI officers identified a camouflaged manufacturing setup operating under the cover of a poultry farm in Pachupatewadi village of Karad taluka in Satara district, Maharashtra.
A coordinated operation conducted on January 24, 2026, led to the unearthing of a makeshift, mobile, and fully operational laboratory equipped with apparatus capable of producing mephedrone, a banned NDPS substance.
During the raid, DRI seized a total of 21.912 kg of mephedrone in different forms, including 11.848 kg in liquid form, 9.326 kg in semi-liquid form, and 738 grams in crystalline form. In addition, 71.5 kg of raw material capable of yielding around 15 kg of finished NDPS substance was also recovered.
The illicit market value of the seized narcotics is estimated to be approximately ₹55 crore, the agency stated in a press release.
DRI has arrested five individuals in the case. These include the ‘cook’ involved in manufacturing the drug, the financer-consigner, and the owner of the poultry farm where the unit was operating. The first batch of finished contraband had reportedly been concealed at the poultry farm owner’s residence for safekeeping.
In a follow-up operation, DRI officers mounted late-night surveillance near an old octroi toll naka inside a dense forested area and apprehended two more individuals who were en route to collect the final product.
Notably, out of the five accused arrested so far, four are repeat offenders and have previously been booked under the NDPS Act or prosecuted under stringent laws such as the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA), 1999.
Officials said the successful operation highlights DRI’s critical role in dismantling organised drug trafficking networks that pose serious threats to public health, law and order, and economic stability.
