Ahmedabad: The Gujarat Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) has arrested three more persons in connection with the seizure of banned mephedrone drug and its raw material worth RS 478.65 crore in Vadodara, an official said on Friday. The ATS on Wednesday arrested the accused, who are residents of Vadodara city, for allegedly being part of a racket involved in manufacturing and sale of the banned substance, the official said.
On November 29, 2022, an ATS team raided a small factory-cum-godown near Sindhrot village on the outskirts of Vadodara city and seized a huge cache of mephedrone and its raw material worth Rs 478.65 crore. The ATS also arrested five persons from the spot.
A preliminary investigation revealed that the accused had been manufacturing mephedrone for 45 days in the factory, which was erected using metal sheets, the probe agency stated. "During the interrogation of the five accused, we learned about the role of three others, who were nabbed by our team on Wednesday from Vadodara," a senior ATS officer said.
One of the accused is a financier, who was actively involved in the entire production process and supplied raw material to manufacture the banned substance, he said, adding that the other two men worked as "carriers" to transport the finished product to another drug dealer for sale.
According to the probe agency, one of the accused arrested earlier had learnt the process of making narcotic drugs on the 'dark web' and roped in others after setting up the unit near Sindhrot. (PTI)
