Maharashtra police seize MD worth ₹107 crore, factories busted in Jodhpur, Sirohi

Jodhpur: A day after the Maharashtra police uncovered facilities producing mephedrone drug, more popularly known as MD, in two Jodhpur villages, the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) and the Sirohi police busted another factory manufacturing narcotic drugs in Siorhi district and arrested two persons on Monday.The Maharashtra police had seized MD worth Rs 107 crore and raw material valued at Rs 68 lakh from a unit in Jodhpur on Sunday. The police first raided a unit in Mogra Khurd village and arrested its owner Hukmaram Jat, who told them about one more unit in Jhalamand village being operated by Vikas Chouhan. However, Chouhan managed to escape.NCB (Jodhpur) zonal director Ghanshyam Soni said that Monday’s action was carried out on a specific input with the help of Sirohi police at a secret unit under Kailash Nagar police station in Sirohi.“We have seized 12 kg of final product, ready to be dispatched, and 60 kg of the product in liquid form along with other chemicals,” said Soni, adding that the cost of items seized has been estimated at Rs 45 crore.Those arrested have been identified as Ragaram and Bajrang Bishnoi.Yogesh Shinde of Mumbai police said they got information about MD production in Jodhpur from a drug peddler in Mumbai, who claimed to have sourced the drug from Jodhpur to sell it primarily in Mumbai and Pune. The unit had been operating for four months, producing drugs worth nearly Rs 50 crore per month. These were being distributed in five states— Gujarat, Maharashtra, Punjab, MP and Bihar. The minimum order value was Rs 40 crore, and the possibility of the drug reaching Hollywood is under investigation. The existence of additional units operating in the Marwar region has not been ruled out.TOI attempted to obtain a comment from Jodhpur police commissioner Rajendra Singh, but he remained unavailable.Jodhpur is turning into a hub for production of MD, with manufacturing units operating openly despite the presence of local police and NCB. Although numerous peddlers, including women, have been arrested with the drug, law enforcement agencies have been unable to apprehend the main suppliers or manufacturers.Prior to this incident, NCB and Jodhpur Rural police had seized drugs worth Rs 300 crore based on information provided by Gujarat ATS. Thirteen individuals from Gujarat and Rajasthan were arrested, and five manufacturing units were uncovered in both states, with three located in Sirohi, Jalore, and Jodhpur districts.Interestingly, all manufacturing unit networks in the state have been exposed by external agencies, with neither the NCB nor the local police having any leads, despite arresting numerous MD peddlers over the past year. During interrogation of these peddlers, the names of two suppliers, Mangilal and Suresh, emerged, but both remain at large.