The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) has launched a multi-pronged investigation to identify the financial backers, chemical suppliers and possible cartel connections behind the clandestine mephedrone laboratory busted in Jalaun on October 29. Investigators will examine suspected links in Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra to determine whether the facility was part of a wider interstate drug-manufacturing network.
“We are using technical tools to identify the mastermind behind the laboratory. The Jalaun operation was among several recent discoveries of clandestine drug-manufacturing facilities in Uttar Pradesh. A mephedrone unit was uncovered in Prayagraj in September, while the Gujarat ATS, with assistance from UP Police, busted another suspected facility operating from a poultry farm in Ambedkar Nagar in March. The DRI also uncovered an illegal psychotropic drug manufacturing facility in Jewar in August.
Senior DRI officials said the two arrested accused, Hemendra Kushwah, 27, a resident of Orai in Jalaun, and Santosh, 37, from Maharashtra, had been sent to judicial custody.
The investigation will also cover Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra, including the addresses of the arrested accused, to ascertain whether more such manufacturing facilities are operating,” a senior DRI official said.
The agency did not seek their police custody, having completed their interrogation before producing them before the court.
The investigation follows the October 29 joint operation by the DRI and Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS), which uncovered a functional clandestine mephedrone laboratory in a remote village in Orai, Jalaun. The agencies seized 1,102.88 kg of drugs, semi-processed substances, precursor chemicals and other materials, collectively valued at over ₹ 300 crore.
“We usually have to file a complaint within 180 days, so the investigation will be planned in a phased manner,” the senior official said, indicating that the agency would pursue the financial, technical and supply-chain aspects within the statutory timeline.
