In Pune’s ‘biggest ever’ drug haul, Mephedrone worth Rs 1100 crore seized | Pune News

Officials said that after the arrest of the three people, two godowns in Vishrantwadi were raided and 55 kg of Mephedrone was recovered from those facilities. The police later received information that the drugs were being synthesised in a chemical factory in Kurkumbh. In the raids conducted at this plant, over 550 kg of Mephedrone was seized.

“Some suspects connected to these facilities have been detained, and a further probe is underway. We have prepositioned our teams in different parts of the county for further operation,” said Commissioner (Pune police) Amitesh Kumar on Tuesday.

Earlier, on Monday, a team from Unit 1 of the Crime Branch of the Pune city police was probing a specific intelligence input. Based on the input, a car was intercepted in the Somwar Peth area in the early hours of Monday. A criminal on police records, Vaibhav Mane alias Pintya, 30, was in the car along with the driver, Ajay Karosia, 35. In their search, the police team seized Mephedrone weighing 500 gm, valued at Rs 1 crore in the international illegal market.

The questioning of the duo revealed that they had procured the contraband from a man in Vishrantwadi identified as Haidar Shaikh, 40. In his search, 500 gm of Mephedrone was seized and in a subsequent raid conducted at his godown, 750 gm more Mephedrone was seized amidst hundreds of gunny bags of salt. Investigation suggests that Shaikh may have been using his salt trading business as a cover for the smuggling of Mephedrone.

Commissioner Amitesh Kumar earlier said, “We are making coordinated efforts for the success of the ‘drugs-free Pune’ campaign. We hope for full support from the citizens. A dedicated WhatsApp number 8975953100 has been earmarked for citizens to give inputs about drug usage and trafficking by messaging or calling this number. The name of the informant will be kept secret.”