Maharashtra Police Bust Rs 12,000 Crore Drug Manufacturing Unit In Hyderabad, 12 Arrested In Major Crackdown

Maharashtra police dismantled a massive synthetic drug network in Hyderabad, seizing narcotics worth nearly Rs 12,000 crore and arresting 12 people, in one of the biggest busts in recent years, reported The New Indian Express.

The crackdown began on 8 August, when the Mira-Bhayandar Vasai-Virar (MBVV) Crime Detection Unit (Cell-4) intercepted 23-year-old Bangladeshi national Fatima Murad Shaikh alias Molla near the Kashimira bus stop in Mira Road East, Thane district.

Officers recovered 105 grams of mephedrone from her.

Investigators then seized 178 grams of the drug and Rs 23.97 lakh in cash from multiple suspects, which exposed a wider trafficking syndicate.

Tracing the supply chain to Telangana, Police Inspector Pramod Badakh and his Cell-4 team travelled to Hyderabad, where the probe identified Srinivas Vijay Voleti and his associate Tanaji Pandharinath Patwari as key operators.

On Friday (5 August), the team raided a clandestine unit in Navodaya Colony, Cherlapalli, and arrested the duo along with 10 others.

Police seized 5.968 kg of mephedrone, 27 mobile phones, three four-wheelers, a two-wheeler, four electronic weighing scales, and chemicals used in the drug’s manufacture.

MBVV Police Commissioner Niket Kaushik said the operation, which lasted over a month, was designed to penetrate multiple layers of the syndicate.

“The arrests are significant because, usually, only peddlers and frontline distributors are caught. In this case, we managed to reach the manufacturers, which is rare and extremely challenging,” he noted.

Police said further arrests are likely as the investigation continues.

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