MD case: Kingpin arrested in Sangli

Mumbai: A week after the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) busted a chemical factory that was the largest supplier of the banned narcotic substance Mephedrone (MD) to Mumbai region; the agency has arrested the main accused, identified as ‘doctor’ from Sangli. The ATS also busted another factory in Panvel and seized 133 kg MD in the case.

The ATS has withheld the name of the kingpin but has revealed that he had started a new manufacturing unit in Sangli, Omkar Industries, which was third in a row. The officials busted the Sangli factory and have seized raw materials and chemicals that were stored to produce a fresh batch of 25 kg of MD, officials said. The ATS has also seized cash to the tune of '1.12 crore.

“The Panvel factory producing MD was found with large stocks of hazardous chemicals that were to be used in producing the banned chemical drug. The main accused holds a degree in chemistry and worked as a supervisor with Omkar Industries,” said a release issued by the ATS.

The officials found that the kingpin gathered preliminary knowledge while working as supervisor in 2015 that inspired him to start his own manufacturing unit. Citing the quantum of production, the ATS is probing if the drugs were being peddled outside the state or India.

The trail began on September 9 after the ATS raided a laboratory in Navi Mumbai, which was the production hub of MD supplied to the city and neighbouring areas. They seized 129 kg of the banned chemical drugs worth at least '52.64 crore from a storage unit in Vikhroli, subsequently.

The ATS has till date arrested Naresh Maskar (44), Jitendra Pramath, Suleiman Shaikh (28), Irfan Shaikh (43) and Abdul Shaikh (47) apart from the ‘doctor’.