Mumbai: Thane Police seized 18.5 tonnes of banned drug Ephedrine, valued at Rs 2,000 crore, in the godown of Avon Life Sciences Ltd, MIDC, Chincholi.
This development comes in the aftermath of an arrest of a Nigerian from Thane on April 9 which led the ANC to the seizure.
Police said on April 12, two persons – Sagar Powale and Mayur Sukhdare – were arrested here for allegedly possessing around 2 kg of Ephedrine, police said.
Amol Walzade, sub-inspector, anti-narcotics cell said, “We then made two teams and sent them to the place. The accused also told us from whom they used to buy it. When we reached the place at Solapur a day before yesterday [Thursday], we found the dealer, Dhaneshwar Rajaram Swami, 28, a resident of Solapur.”
“When we arrested him, he told us about a manager of a pharmaceutical company at Chincholi, MIDC in Solapur who was involved. We then traced and arrested the manager, Rajendra Jagdamba Prasad Dimbri, 48,” Walzade added.
Thane police commissioner Parambir Singh said. “The five arrested were produced in court and they have been remanded in police custody till April 20. This drug has a market in Europe and Poland and we came to know that these drugs were exported to there. We are trying to find out if more people are involved. This one of the biggest drug hauls in history.”
“The company’s godowns and record rooms are sealed by the Thane police. We will revisit the place on Sunday to verify whether the stock stored there was legal or illegal,” said Bhagyashree Yadav, drug inspector, Solapur Food & Drugs Administration.
Ephedrine, the sale of which is banned in India, is popularly used overseas for temporary relief of shortness of breath, chest tightness, and wheezing due to bronchial asthma. It is synthesised to produce the popular narcotic Methamphetamine.