Rs.12,000 Cr Drug Unit Busted at Charlapalli
Mephedrone weighing 5.968 grams, 27 mobile phones, three four-wheelers, four electronic scales, chemicals and other materials used in the production of the contraband have been seized along with Rs 23.97 lakh cash
Hyderabad: The arrest of a 23-year-old Bangladeshi woman in Mumbai has exposed a major international drug racket operating out of a chemical factory in the city, in Cherlapally. Nearly 6 kilograms of mephedrone (MD), also known as 'meow meow', among its other names, worth up to Rs 9 crore was seized during the raid. This is perhaps the state's largest contraband seizure yet.
The Mira Bhayander Vasai Virar (MBVV) police in Maharashtra raided the Vaghdevi InnoScience Pvt. Ltd plant in Cherlapally on Saturday and seized around 6 kg of mephedrone. The company claims to have several units abroad.
"Drugs weighing 05 kg 790 grams, as well as 35,500 litres of chemicals, 950 kg of powder and other materials required for making drugs have been recovered," the Maharashtra police said in a release.
The accused were identified as Srinivas Vijay Voleti and his accomplice Tanaji Pandharinath Patwari. The factory has been sealed and Srinivas and another associate, Tanaji Pate, have been taken into custody and are being questioned.
MBVV police commissioner Niket Kaushik told reporters that the total value of the items seized, including mephedrone, would run into several crore of rupees. “Further probe is underway to unravel the entire supply chain linked to the unit," he said.
On August 8, the Maharashtra police arrested one Fatima Murad Shaikh alias Molla, 23, a Bangladesh national and footpath dweller near the Kashimira bus stop on Mira Road, who was known to have been a part of a drug network. Through her, nine persons were arrested and 178 grams of mephedrone and cash worth Rs 23.97 lakh were recovered.
A case was booked under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances
(NDPS) Act, 1985, as well as the Immigration and Foreigners Act, 2025.
During interrogation, the Maharashtra police learnt that the accused were sourcing the drug from Telangana. Acting on the lead, a team of 15 officers, including three high-rank officials, reached Hyderabad. On September 5, cops discovered that Vaghdevi InnoScience, located in Navodaya Colony in Cherlapally, had been illegally manufacturing mephedrone.
The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) had earlier made several such seizures, including the biggest and most recent ones in Pune, Delhi and Bhopal, where they stated that the value of 1 kg of MD is around `1.56 crore.
As part of protocol, the Maharashtra team had informed the local police when they entered the city, officials said.
DCP D. Padmaja said the local police personnel were present during the raid. She confirmed that there are no NDPS cases linked to Srinivas Voleti or Vaghdevi Innoscience in Telangana. "It is purely a Maharashtra police operation based on a confession from the Bangladeshi woman," she told Deccan Chronicle.
Vaghdevi InnoScience, a life sciences listed company, claims to provide chemical synthesising and informatics services. Found in 2015, the company on its website claims to have research institutions located across the US, Europe, and Asia-Pacific (APAC) regions.
The company was in 2020 issued a notice by the Telangana Pollution Control Board (TGPCB) following a news report alleging discharge of effluents in the Raa Cheruvu in Boduppal. They were also asked to submit a bank guarantee (BG) of Rs 1 lakh.
Mephedrome is a synthetic stimulant drug and is similar to amphetamines.
Chemically, it is called 4-methylmethcathinone.
It is more popular as drone, M-CAT, white magic, meow meow, and bubble.
It is similar to the naturally occurring stimulant in khat plants found in East Africa.