The Narcotics Control Bureau has reportedly uncovered an illegal mephedrone manufacturing facility operating from a basement near Mohammadi Park in Ahmedabad’s Sarkhej area, seizing raw materials and machinery valued at crores of rupees during a raid on November 15, according to Sandesh – Ahmedabad.
The operation was conducted after the central agency received information about the alleged facility. NCB officials searched a house in the area and found what the report describes as a concealed manufacturing unit in the basement. The use of a residential property for drug production has brought the enforcement operation into a neighbourhood setting rather than an industrial premises.
The seized material reportedly included raw ingredients used to manufacture MD, also known as mephedrone, along with machinery. The source report does not provide the precise quantity or valuation of the seized material, but describes it as worth crores of rupees. Further details about the technical equipment and the suspected production capacity were not disclosed in the available report.
The house owner was detained by the NCB and was being questioned as part of the investigation. The report identifies the property owner as a key person under investigation, but does not state whether formal arrests, charges or a case filing had been completed at the time of publication. The agency is examining the owner’s alleged role in the operation and the way the premises may have been used.
NCB officials also searched a coffee shop linked to the detained individual. The search is intended to establish whether another business was used as a cover for the alleged drug network, according to the report. The available information does not establish the coffee shop’s operational role or whether additional material was recovered from the premises.
The agency is also investigating possible interstate and international links to the alleged syndicate. The report says officials are tracing the network’s connections and examining how the raw materials, machinery and manufacturing activity were organised. It does not identify other suspects, suppliers, destinations or countries connected to the case.
The reported raid highlights the enforcement challenge posed by illicit production units located inside ordinary urban properties. In this case, the alleged facility was situated in a basement near a residential neighbourhood and was investigated alongside a commercial premises associated with the detained property owner. The NCB’s continuing questioning and searches are expected to determine the wider scope of the case and whether further action follows.
The investigation remains ongoing. The next steps will depend on the NCB’s questioning of the detained house owner, the examination of seized material and machinery, and any further searches or disclosures by the agency regarding the alleged interstate and international links.
