Mumbai: The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) — in what has been called the biggest drug seizure in history — has got hold of 23.38 metric tonnes of Methaqualone or Mandrax tablets with an estimated worth of Rs 3,000 crore in Udaipur. Mandrax is banned under Schedule I of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act.
The seizure led to arrest of Subhash Dudani, a Mumbai-based Bollywood producer and businessman, at his residence at Seven Bungalows in Andheri (West) on Sunday. He is now being sent to Udaipur.
The Mumbai Airport Customs’ Air Intelligence Unit had previously caught Mr Dudani in 1991 for allegedly smuggling Rs 13 lakh in foreign currency. During his investigation, Mr Dudani had claimed that he had spent about Rs 1 crore to manufacture the whole consignment and each tablet was to be sold at the rate of $2-3. Mr Dudani’s nephew, Ravi Dudani, allegedly managed the operation from Udaipur. The DRI caught Mr Ravi while he was allegedly in possession of the pills at RIICO, an industrial area in Udaipur, on October 28.
