New Delhi, Oct 17 (PTI) Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday said a major milestone has been achieved with the busting of two clandestine drug laboratories in Uttar Pradesh’s Greater Noida.
Congratulating the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), he said the operation led to the seizure of huge quantities of synthetic drugs, drug precursors and equipment, and the arrest of two individuals, including a foreign national.
“It is a remarkable example of intelligence-led enforcement and a testament to our unwavering commitment to dismantling drug cartels before December 2029, in line with the Vision Document on Narcotics Control 2026-2029, adopted under Modi Ji’s Mission for Nashamukt Bharat,” Shah said in a post on X.
The NCB busted the two clandestine drug-manufacturing laboratories, arrested two persons, including a woman, and seized 379.74 kg of an amphetamine-containing material and 10 kg of pseudoephedrine, according to a statement issued by the agency on Saturday.
The two arrested accused were identified as Destiny Abraham Dumbiri, who claimed to be a Nigerian national, and Lallawmzuali, also known as Olivia Lalchawimawii, a resident of Mizoram.
Immigration records showed that Dumbiri entered India in January 2020 under the name Francis Kalokoh, identified as a Sierra Leone national, on a tourist visa valid until December 2020, the NCB said.
Lallawmzuali was previously arrested in a case investigated by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) in Goa. In March, authorities seized 313 grams of a heroin-containing powder, classified as a commercial quantity, from her checked-in baggage at the Dabolim airport, the statement said.
She is currently out on bail in that case.
The laboratories were operating from rented premises in Jahanabad Kadalpur village of Greater Noida and were allegedly being used to manufacture and process synthetic drugs.
Based on specific intelligence, the NCB on Friday launched a covert operation, code-named Operation Crystal Hunt, the statement said.
The seized material comprised 4.26 kg of crystalline, 157.7 kg of semi-crystalline and 217.78 kg of liquid amphetamine-containing substances.
According to the NCB’s estimates, the crystalline and semi-crystalline material can yield about 56 kg of finished crystalline amphetamine, with an indicative illicit market value of approximately Rs 45 crore.
The seizure also included chemicals, such as hydrochloric acid, acetone, toluene, sulphuric acid and potassium permanganate, which the NCB said are used in the manufacture of methamphetamine.
The premises contained extensive chemical-processing equipment, including large-capacity heating mantles, glass reaction vessels, chemical storage drums, filtration equipment, weighing scales, respirators and other laboratory apparatus, according to the statement.
The NCB said the use of multiple identities by drug traffickers to mislead enforcement agencies poses a significant challenge and is being examined as part of the investigation. PTI ABS RC
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