In a huge haul, the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) has confiscated 23.5 tonnes of banned Mandrax tablets at Udaipur, Rajasthan.
On a tip-off, a team of DRI officers raided the premises of Marudhar Drinks in Udaipur on October 28. During the searches, the officials detected a hidden room full of cartons of Mandrax tablets.
It contained about 2 crore tablets, which have been seized.
The tablets, estimated to be worth over Rs. 3,000 crore, were meant for illegal exports to Mozambique and South Africa, Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) Chairman Najeeb Shah told a press conference. “The party drug, a depressant, overdose of which can lead to coma and death, is used as a recreational drug in Africa and Asia,” Mr. Shah said.
He said Bollywood producer Subhash Dudani, the alleged mastermind of the syndicate that manufactured acetic anhydride, a major ingredient of Mandrax, and imported or locally procured other raw materials, had been arrested. Mr. Dudani was nabbed in Mumbai and sent to Udaipur on transit remand.
The operations to nab others involved in the drug syndicate were under way, Mr. Shah said.
Owned by kingpin’s nephewThe pharmaceutical factory in Udaipur and its two warehouses in Rajsamand, where the seizure was made, are owned by Ravi Dudani, nephew of the Dubai-based kingpin Subhash Dudani.
Subhash, the key person behind the narcotic drugs racket, lives in Dubai and had come to Mumbai to celebrate Diwali with his family.
The Border Security Force arrested Subhash at the Mumbai airport on Tuesday and brought him to Udaipur for questioning.
According to sources, Subhash has been detained along with Ravi in the BSF Camp at Kavita village situated 10 km away from Udaipur.
The Udaipur police were kept out of the loop of the joint operation by the DRI, the Central Bureau of Narcotics and the BSF.
The BSF has taken charge of security outside the factory and its warehouses, while the building has been covered with a tent.
Team members fall sickSome members of the raiding team fell sick due to exposure to the white powder used for manufacturing the drug.
Rajasthan Home Minister Gulab Chand Kataria admitted that the police failed to get clues about the narcotic drugs racket.
(With inputs from Mohammed Iqbalin Jaipur)