The Narcotics Control Bureau’s Ahmedabad Zonal Unit and Gujarat Police have uncovered a suspected illegal mephedrone, or MD, manufacturing laboratory in a basement in Sarkhej, Ahmedabad, during a joint operation launched on specific intelligence.
According to the report by Sandesh, the action was carried out under “Operation Synthetic Drug” at premises linked to Mudassar Ahmed Khan in the L-2/13 area near Mohammad Park, Labbail Park, Amber Tower and the canal behind the 100-foot Ring Road in Gyaspur, along Sarkhej Road. The agencies found a concealed laboratory that was allegedly being used to manufacture the prohibited psychotropic substance.
The operation led to the seizure of suspected MD in both liquid and powder forms. The liquid substance weighed 26.85 grams, including the weight of the glass vial, while 0.70 grams of powder was recovered. The combined quantity of suspected MD was therefore reported as 27.55 grams.
Investigators also seized 130.613 kilograms of chemicals and other materials allegedly connected with the production of synthetic drugs. The substances listed in the report include sodium hydroxide, sulphuric acid, methylamine, hydrochloric acid, propionyl chloride, toluene and industrial-grade methylene dichloride, or MDC. The MDC accounted for 86.650 kilograms of the seized material.
The agencies also recovered laboratory equipment, including heating mantles, digital magnetic stirrers and round-bottom flasks. The presence of specialised equipment, chemicals and suspected MD in the basement formed the basis for the agencies’ suspicion that the premises was being used for illegal production, according to the report.
Mephedrone is prohibited under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985. The seizure places the operation within the city’s wider enforcement challenge involving concealed drug-production facilities in mixed urban areas, although the supplied report does not establish how long the laboratory had been active or whether production had taken place at the site previously.
The investigation is continuing to establish the alleged criminal operation, identify the sources of the seized chemicals and determine the roles of other people who may have been involved. The NCB and Gujarat Police have not, in the supplied report, provided further details about arrests, the laboratory’s output or the wider supply network. Further action will depend on the ongoing investigation and the examination of the seized substances and equipment.
