New Delhi, May 7 (PTI) The Delhi police has arrested three men and busted a factory making psychotropic drugs, officials said in a press conference on Tuesday.
During the raids, they recovered 4.720 kilograms of fine quality psychotropic substance Alprazolam worth Rs 1 crore in the international market, police said.
Alprazolam is a highly potent and addictive psychotropic substance. It is a generic prescription medication approved for treating panic disorder and short-term treatment of anxiety disorder in adults. According to the police, the recovered psychotropic substance was smuggled from Uttar Pradesh and Uttrakhand and was meant to be supplied to different parts of India. “From the seized substance, approximately 700 kgs of psychotropic substance Alprazolam can be processed,” Deputy Commissioner of Police (special cell) Amit Kaushik said.
The accused were identified as Rachit Kumar (22), Namit Chaudhary (34), and Vanga Rajender Goud (49), DCP Kaushik said.
“Arrested people are the key players in the drug trafficking ring and on their instance, we busted a factory at Gajroula area in Amroha of UP in which psychotropic substance Alprazolam was illegally being manufactured. These individuals have significant ties to interstate drug cartels, indicating the transnational nature of their illicit operations,” he said.
Sharing details, the DCP said, that in the first week of February, an input regarding an interstate narcotic drug cartel, involved in the smuggling of psychotropic substances from Uttrakhand and Himachal Pradesh to Delhi and southern states was received.
“Our teams launched an investigation into the matter and it took about three months to collect information. On April 25, the team intercepted a suspicious parcel sent by this cartel member at a courier company’s warehouse at IGI Airport Delhi. On opening the parcel, it was found that it had 2 kilograms of psychotropic substances packed in two packets of silver colour plastic polythenes, covered from all sides by the two or three hard card box layers to avoid detection from the X-ray machine at the courier company,” said the DCP, adding that an FIR was registered and further investigation was initiated.
During the investigation, a raid was conducted at Haridwar on April 29 and the people who booked the said parcel, Rachit and Namit, were arrested. They further informed the police about two more packets containing more than 2.7 kg of Alprazolam from Haridwar and Bijnor, the DCP said.
“They revealed another name, Vanga Rajender Goud who was also arrested. Later, based on the information given by Namit, a search warrant for a factory situated in UP was obtained,” he said. “In the presence of local police and officials of the drugs department of Amroha, a search was conducted in the factory. We recovered 1,570 kgs of salt and chemicals — raw materials used for manufacturing Alprazolam. This factory was running illegally and had all types of equipment used for manufacturing the drug. The factory was seized and the owner of the factory is still at large,” he added. According to police, Alprazolam is classified as a controlled substance in India, bringing regulation on its production, possession, trade, export and use. Illegal possession and trade are punishable by up to 10 years of imprisonment.
“We are searching for the mastermind of this gang,” said the DCP. PTI BM HIG HIG
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