New Delhi: In a major crackdown, a team of the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) and a special cell of the Delhi Police carried out raid and unearthed a clandestine methamphetamine manufacturing lab, seizing almost 95 kg of drugs and advanced manufacturing machinery on October 25. The methamphetamine manufacturing lab was situated in Kasana Industrial Area in Greater Noida.
The police discovered that the meth lab was being run by a Tihar jail warden, a Delhi-based businessman and a chemist from Mumbai. It was also found that members of notorious ‘Cartel De Jalisco Nueva Generacion’, a Mexican drug cartel, had links with the lab, according to an India Today report.
NCB arrests four suspects
Four persons were arrested by the NCB. Among those arrested were the businessman and the warden. As per the India Today report, the Delhi-based businessman had in the past been detained by the Department of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) in a a narcotics case. The businessman had made connections with the Tihar Jail warden, who reportedly helped him in getting the necessary chemicals and machinery for production of drugs. A businessman’s aide was also detained from Delhi’s Rajouri Garden area.
As per the report, the other accused brought in the Mumbai-based chemist to oversee production, with a cartel member in Delhi monitoring the quality checks. The four arrested accused were remanded to three days of police custody after they were produced before a magistrate on October 27. Investigations are on.
The Greater Noida bust is not an isolated incident. NCB officials said that similar hidden drug labs have been dismantled in Gujarat, Rajasthan, and Madhya Pradesh recently. According to an official, there is a worrying trend of drug labs being set up in industrial zones, which minimises the chances of being detected by law enforcement.
