New Delhi, Nov 15 (IANS) Five persons were arrested and chemicals worth crores of rupees were seized by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) and Rajasthan Police in a joint operation to bust a clandestine lab in a remote village in Sirohi district, Rajasthan, an official said on Saturday.

The seizure was sufficient to manufacture about 100 kgs of Mephedrone, which could be sold for up to Rs 40 crore, said the official in a statement.

The mastermind and four others have been arrested for running the lab to make Mephedrone, which is being increasingly used as a psychotropic drug in the states of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra, it said.

The Sirohi Police, Rajasthan, found drums and packets containing chemicals along with lab equipment in a remote farmhouse at Daantrai Village in District Sirohi, Rajasthan, on November 6.

The police shared this information with NCB, Jodhpur, whereupon the officers immediately reached the site and found tell-tale signs of a clandestine lab.

The National Forensic Science University (NFSU), Gandhinagar, team was called for inspection, and they confirmed the presence of precursors being used in the lab equipment recovered from the site.

During the investigation, the main characters behind running the lab were identified, and five of them were arrested from different parts of Rajasthan and Gujarat by NCB, Jodhpur, with the assistance of Rajasthan Police.

The mastermind, Vala Ram, a resident of district Jalore, Rajasthan, has been arrested. During interrogation, it was revealed that he is a graduate, and after failing in various exams, including the Civil Services Exam, he decided to get into the business of manufacturing Mephedrone to make quick money, said the statement.

He took the farmhouse on lease in the name of his associate Bhura Ram, resident of Dhantrai village of Baltora district. He used virtual SIMs to communicate with other members of the syndicate and surfed the darknet to learn the manufacturing process, said the statement.

He sourced the chemicals and lab equipment from Ankleshwar, Gujarat. He was also wanted in one of the Central Bureau of Narcotics (CBN) cases of mephedrone trafficking, said the statement.

The vehicle used in the transportation of the chemicals and equipment has been seized. Investigation has also revealed that they manufactured 8 kg of mephedrone, out of which 2 kg was seized by CBN from one of their associates on October 28, the statement said.

An official said in this case, the NCB used the mechanism of monthly District Level Narco Coordination Centre (NCORD) meetings to sensitise the district police, especially in Rajasthan.

The state police were sensitised about the issue and reported the presence of drums containing chemicals and lab equipment at an unusual place to the local office of NCB, as such a place could be a clandestine facility for manufacturing synthetic drugs like Mephedrone.

Red flag indicators about the presence of clandestine labs were also shared by NCB with district police across all over the country. These included windows covered or blacked out; excessive ventilation/ducting; signs of metal corrosion or chemical staining on walls/floors, buildings or sheds, formerly residential but used as labs and storage of chemicals or equipment at unusual places, said the statement.

–IANS

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