PhD scholar arrested for illegally manufacturing mephedrone

PhD scholar arrested for illegally manufacturing mephedrone

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Hyderabad: 13.12.2020

Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) sleuths busted major interstate a mephedrone manufacturing racket and arrested a PhD holder in Chemistry for manufacturing the narcotic substance. The accused has been working for a Mumbai-based cartel for the past year and he has already supplied them with 100 kilos of contraband.

The arrested accused are Srinivasa Rao, 45, a Phd holder in Chemistry and Mohammed Ashraf, an associate of Mumbai-based drug supply gang. Srinivasa Rao has been operating a small drug manufacturing unit independently for the past year based on the directions of the Mumbai-based gang.

Acting on a tip-off, sleuths of DRI’s Hyderabad Zonal Unit raided at the manufacturing unit in Jeedimetla industrial area and arrested both Srinivasa Rao and Mohammed Ashraf on Friday. The DRI team seized 3.1 kilograms of mephedrone worth ₹63.1lakh from their possession. During the subsequent searches conducted at Srinivasa Rao’s house, DRI sleuths seized ₹12.4 lakh cash and 112 grams of mephedrone samples of different purities.

Apart from mephedrone, the law enforcement agency also seized 210.5 kilos of raw materials procured by Rao from the Mumbai gang to manufacture more mephedrone at Jeedimetla lab.

“From the raw material seized, the accused could have manufactured 15-20 kilos of mephedrone,” said a DRI official. During interrogation, Srinivasa Rao confessed that he has a PhD in Chemistry and worked in the pharma sector before ‘breaking bad’. Rao also told the DRI team that he supplied over 100 kilos of mephedrone in the past year.

The DRI believes the gang is exporting the drug, apart from selling some of it in Mumbai, Goa and Delhi. The accused were produced before the court and sent to judicial remand.