Mumbai police arrest one more accused in Rs 300 cr mephedrone seizure case; 18 nabbed so far

The Mumbai police, which seized mephedrone worth Rs 300 crore in a two-month operation, has arrested another accused who had allegedly provided the formula for manufacturing the banned substance and the manpower to set up a factory in Maharashtra’s Nashik district, an official said on Friday.

With the latest arrest, the police have apprehended 18 persons for their involvement so far, he said. A team from Saki Naka police arrested Harish Pant from his residence in Vasai in neighbouring Palghar district on Thursday evening, the official said.

Pant, who hailed from Dehradun in Uttarakhand, had allegedly provided the formula for manufacturing mephedrone in large quantities and had helped the other accused Lalit Patil and his brother Bhushan Patil to set up the factory, he said. Pant was produced before a court on Friday along with the other accused and has been remanded to police custody till October 30, the official said. In an operation spanning two months, the police seized mephedrone worth Rs 300 crore, arrested various people from different cities and busted a drug manufacturing unit at Shindegaon MIDC industrial area in Nashik district on October 5.

The accused persons had rented the place to set up a manufacturing unit in the name of another person by informing the owner that they were going to establish an insecticide factory, he said.

According to officials, some of the arrested accused were also involved in the Chakan MIDC Pune drugs case.