Pune Police Seizes Massive Quantity of ‘Meow Meow’ Drug in Sangli Raids; Total Seizure In Nationwide Narcotics Racket Reaches 1828 kg Worth Rs 3700 Crores
Mubarak Ansari
Pune, 21st February 2024: In a breakthrough against a drug racket, Pune Police have initiated widespread raids across the country. As part of this operation, raids were conducted today in the Sangli district of Maharashtra, resulting in the detention of three individuals and the seizure of about 140 kg of the synthetic drug ‘MD’ (mephedrone) valued at approximately Rs 280 crore.
The enforcement actions unfolded on Wednesday morning in the Swami Mala area at Kupwad in Sangli district, where the police detained three suspects during an intensive search. The investigation led to the discovery of around 140 kg of ‘MD’ at the location.
The arrested individuals were subjected to a thorough interrogation, revealing that the ‘MD’ consignment was dispatched to Sangli from the premises of Earthchem Laboratories Pvt. Ltd located in Kurkumbh MIDC near Daund in Pune district. Responding swiftly to this intelligence, two teams from the Pune Police Crime Branch were dispatched to Sangli to further investigate the matter.
Ayub Akbarshah Makandar, a 44-year-old resident of Kupwad, Sangli, was initially detained during the operation. Subsequently, the police recovered ten kg of ‘MD’ from him. A deeper investigation led to the unearthing of an additional 130 kg of the illicit substance. Authorities have confirmed the detention of two more individuals in connection with this case.
The racket was detected on February 19 (Sunday) when Pune Police arrested a criminal on police record in Pune and seized 500 gm of MD from his possession. Since then, police have arrested 11 people in Pune, Delhi and Sangli and seized about 1828 kg of MD valued at Rs 3700 Crores in the international market. A parcel of MD was also sent to London by the accused through a food courier, Pune Police Commissioner Amitesh Kumar said.
According to officials, the accused had been manufacturing the drug at the factory of Earthchem Laboratories in Kurkumbh since October last year. The factory was sealed today.
