Hyderabad: After busting an illegal drug manufacturing unit at Vetukuri Labs in Bibi Nagar in August, where 27 kg of mephedrone and 56 kg of acetone were seized, EAGLE police have found that the organised inter-state gang was operating a similar illegal unit in Maregaon, in Maharashtra’s Yavatmal district, about 150 km from Nagpur.Based on a complaint filed by EAGLE sleuths, Maharashtra police registered a criminal case on Monday and arrested three persons — Saddam Hussain, Rakesh Verma and Jairaj Shetty — for their alleged roles in the Bibi Nagar and Maregaon cases. They were booked under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act.According to police, the gang sourced precursor chemicals from Vadodara in Gujarat and supplied them to illegal manufacturing units across Telangana and Maharashtra, with the help of individuals from Assam, Telangana and Maharashtra. The gang allegedly used these facilities to manufacture drugs, police said.“The accused allegedly used various precursor chemicals to manufacture ephedrine, alprazolam and mephedrone at the Maregaon unit from 2024, with assistance from Anand Kumar, a resident of Bahadurpally in Hyderabad. Anand is an expert in setting up infrastructure for such facilities and also owns a company,” an EAGLE official said.The first breakthrough in the case, including a tip-off about Anand, came after EAGLE officials arrested Chetan Madhukar Meshram, a native of Assam and a key accused, during the August drug bust. During interrogation, police learnt that he frequently visited Nagpur.Following leads provided by Chetan, police traced the operation to Maregaon, where he and his associates had rented a poultry farm from a farmer and allegedly used it as a front for an illegal drug manufacturing unit. Police found that the farm owner, whose premises are now lying abandoned, was unaware of the unlawful activity.The accused had been using the premises since 2024, police said.During the raid, EAGLE sleuths seized several raw materials, including toluene (three 25-litre tins), hydrochloric acid (HCl), phosphorus oxychloride and around five 200-litre drums.“In June 2024, a person named Krishna, who is part of Chetan’s gang, contacted Anand seeking the installation of reflection and distillation units. After reaching Nagpur, he met Chetan and one of his employees, Inamul. They stayed for two to three days and carried out the installation work at an agricultural field,” an EAGLE investigator said.Chetan allegedly sourced precursor chemicals from Vadodara and transported them to Valsad, Nagpur, Jeedimetla, Bibi Nagar and a few other locations.“He employed several people, mostly from Assam, and sent them to different illegal units in Telangana and Maharashtra. They were trained at these facilities and subsequently deployed to manufacture various drugs,” EAGLE director Sandeep Shandilya said.The role of Fadh Shaikh, who allegedly helped Chetan identify suitable locations for illegal manufacturing units and arrange the necessary logistics, is under investigation. Police said they were searching for him.
About The Author
