Rajasthan ANTF seizes 234 kg drug-making chemical; 2 arrested

JAISALMER: A tanker carrying chemicals used in the manufacture of MD drugs was seized by the Anti Narcotics Task Force (ANTF), with assistance from the NCB, in Rajasthan’s Balotra district. Officials said the tanker had travelled nearly 1,500 km from Hyderabad before it was intercepted in the Ramji Ki Gol area of Balotra while allegedly transporting banned chemicals to set up an MD drug factory in the Gudamalani region.

During the operation, officials recovered 234 kg of chemical concealed in six drums hidden inside the tanker. According to investigators, the seized material could have been used to manufacture nearly 60 kg of MD drugs worth several crores of rupees in the illegal market. Two people were arrested in connection with the case.

Officials said the tanker left Hyderabad three days ago. The accused were allegedly planning to establish a synthetic drug manufacturing unit in the Gudamalani area of Balotra district.

ANTF IG Vikas Kumar said the seized chemical, commonly known as “Bromo”, was being secretly transported from Hyderabad to Rajasthan for the production of synthetic drugs. Acting on intelligence inputs, the ANTF team tracked the consignment from Hyderabad itself.

According to officials, the smugglers changed the proposed factory location by nearly 15 km after suspecting that agencies had received information about the operation. They had also contacted migrant Rajasthanis in Hyderabad to arrange transportation of the raw material.

The ANTF had received information three days earlier that a large quantity of banned raw material was being transported to Rajasthan in a tanker. The team coordinated with a local transport agency and obtained the tanker number and the driver’s contact details. Officials tracked the vehicle’s movement with the help of informers.

The tanker travelled through Hyderabad, Nanded, Jalgaon, Dhule, Vadodara, Ahmedabad, Palanpur and Sanchore before reaching Ramji Ki Gol in Balotra district. ANTF teams began following the tanker from Sanchore and intercepted it near Mahadev Hotel in Ramji Ki Gol.

During the search, officials found 12 packets containing around 234 kg of the banned “Bromo” chemical hidden inside six drums. The NCB team was later called to complete the seizure formalities.

The arrested men were identified as Dinesh, son of Bhagirath and a resident of Rohilla Paschim under Sedwa police station in Barmer district, and Kamlesh, son of Sadaram and a resident of Hirkan Ka Mithra, Khurd Dhorimanna in Barmer district.

Officials said a single driver initially transported the consignment from Hyderabad. However, fearing arrest while travelling alone, he contacted the tanker owner and called another associate, Kamlesh, to join him at Jalgaon in Maharashtra.

IG Vikas Kumar said nearly 60 kg of MD drugs could have been produced using the seized chemical. The market value of one kilogram of MD drugs is estimated at more than Rs 30 lakh, indicating that narcotics worth several crores could have been manufactured.

He added that due to the growing spread of MD drugs, the ANTF has intensified surveillance on chemical manufacturers and suppliers. Several chemical factories in Rajasthan, including units in Jodhpur, Jaipur and Udaipur, along with factories in Gujarat and Maharashtra, are currently under the agency’s watch.

The IG further said that the chemical commonly known as “Bromo” is scientifically called 2-Bromo-4-Methylpropiophenone, a key precursor used in the manufacture of synthetic drugs such as MD. The chemical is banned in India.