In Jodhpur, law enforcement agencies have apprehended six additional individuals in Rajasthan implicated in an interstate narcotics syndicate and brought to light a fourth production facility in the Sirohi district, where narcotics valued at Rs 45 crore have been confiscated, officials reported on Monday.
The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) and Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS), after a prolonged period of vigilant technical and ground surveillance spanning approximately three months, successfully dismantled three covert narcotics production facilities in Rajasthan and Gujarat on April 27. This operation resulted in the confiscation of 300 kg of narcotics and the arrest of seven individuals, as stated by NCB Deputy Director General (Operations) Gyaneshwar Singh.
The seized substances from the three facilities located in Bhinmal of Jalore district and Osian in Jodhpur district of Rajasthan, as well as Gandhinagar in Gujarat, included 149 kgs of mephedrone or colloquially known as ‘meow meow’ in both powder and liquid forms, 50 kg ephedrine, and 200 liters of acetone, as disclosed by the officer.
On the recent day, six drug traffickers, comprising the orchestrator of the Rajasthan network, were apprehended. These individuals were engaged in procuring raw materials from suppliers in Gujarat for the production of mephedrone, according to officials.
Interrogations revealed that the accused operated their production facilities and disposed of the entire inventory within a month. To achieve this, they utilized nail polish or paint remover, substances detrimental to human health, as their primary material, sources reported.
Joint Director (NCB) Ghanshyam Soni, in a statement, announced the seizure of narcotics valued at Rs 45 crore from the Sirohi facility. Soni indicated that the substances confiscated from Osian in Jodhpur are currently under scrutiny by teams from the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL), adding, “Only upon completion of this investigation can the true value of the narcotics be determined.”
The individuals apprehended on the recent day were identified as the mastermind Kuldeep Singh Rajpurohit and his associates Rajaram Meghwal, Bajrang Lal Bishnoi, Deepak Solanki, Shiv Ratan Agarwal, and Rampratap, the officer confirmed.
Superintendent Dharmendra Singh Yadav of Jodhpur (Rural) stated that efforts are underway to apprehend Jagdish Bishnoi, an associate of Rampratap. Rampratap, who operated a pharmacy in Osian, had established the narcotics production facility on the same premises, hidden behind the shop.
Yadav mentioned that Rampratap was taken into custody from his residence early in the morning following intelligence that he operated a narcotics production laboratory in Osian.
“Rampratap disclosed that they had set up the narcotics production facility in Osian nearly three months ago and had procured chemicals from Gujarat to manufacture mephedrone, but they were apprehended before commencing production,” Yadav disclosed.
Interrogations revealed that narcotics distribution had already commenced from the facility in Sanchor, located near the Rajasthan-Gujarat border, while production in Osian was yet to begin. According to the accused, both facilities were established three to four months ago. They sourced raw materials from Gujarat based on Rajpurohit’s instructions and prepared narcotics for local distribution.
Local law enforcement, in collaboration with NCB and ATS, are now actively investigating the depth of this syndicate. Kuldeep Singh, the mastermind behind the narcotics operation in Rajasthan, managed operations in Sanchore and Osian in Rajasthan, as well as Amreli and Pipalaj in Gujarat. Rajpurohit possessed extensive knowledge of narcotics and provided guidance to others at various production facilities.