The Thane police’s investigations into the alleged ephedrine export racket busted earlier this year have revealed that the international drug cartel connected to the racket was not only buying ephedrine from India, but had also invested money in the operations in India.
In April this year, the Thane Police Crime Branch had uncovered a racket that linked a plant in Solapur belonging to Avon Lifesciences to an international drug cartel. The police had seized 20.5 tonnes of ephedrine estimated to be worth Rs 2,000 crore and made seven arrests in the case, including a full-time director of Avon Lifesciences.
Police said the discovery was significant as it was indicative of the extent of the cartel’s involvement in India.
“Earlier, we believed that the transactions between the accused in India and the international drug cartel were limited to sale of ephedrine to Vicky Goswami. We have now found out that the cartel members had invested money in the entire operation in India and that it was being carried out on a profit-sharing basis with cartel members, indicating a much more direct involvement,” said an officer with the Thane Police.
The police have also asked the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to provide recordings of communication between cartel members and members of the Indian arm of the racket that they might have intercepted to further probe this angle. A team of DEA officials had visited the Thane police headquarters on April 27 and extended co-operation.
Meanwhile, the hunt for the two main accused, Kishorsingh Rathod and Jay Mukhi, is still on. The duo are believed to be vital links in the entire operation. “The problem is that no one person has all the information, or most of the information. With each arrest, we keep uncovering more information about the racket,” the officer added.
