The Anti-Narcotics Cell of Mumbai Police seized 703kg of mephedrone from the Nalasopara area of the city, on August 4 in one of the biggest drug busts in recent years.
According to the police, the value of the seized drugs could be around Rs 1,400 crore. Five individuals, including a post-graduate in organic chemistry, have been arrested in this case.
Mephedrone, also called 'meow meow', MD, drone, White Magic, M-CAT, 4-MMC and 4-methylephedrone is banned under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act.
This massive drug haul is yet another big seizure of the contraband in recent months amid the rising number of similar cases across the country in recent months.
In September 2021, authorities at the Mundra port of Gujarat seized nearly 3,000 kg of heroin worth over Rs 21,000 crore in the international market in the country’s largest ever drug haul.
The consignment of heroin was smuggled from Afghanistan. The port has remained a hotspot of drug seizures in recent months.
Just weeks ago, in another drug bust Punjab Police and the Gujarat Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) in a join operation seized nearly 75 kg of heroin worth Rs 375 crore from a container near Mundra port.
Around the same time, Navi Mumbai Police had also made a drug bust as they seized heroin weighing 72.518 kg worth Rs 362.59 crore after a tip-off from the Punjab Police.
The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) officials, on August 4, arrested a man in Bangalore involved with an international drug racket. The arrested individual was carrying 16 kg of heroin worth Rs 112 crore.
Since January 2021, the DRI has seized over 350kg of cocaine worth Rs 3,500 crore from multiple locations across the country in different operations.
Sanjay Kumar Singh, Deputy Director-General (Operations) at Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), had recently stated in an interview that substance abuse among the youth was increasing rapidly.
“I can say that the consumption of drugs among the youth is increasing. I am not sure about the exact number, but I think roughly around 10 crore (100 million) Indians consume drugs.
It used to be around 2 crore (20 million) 15 years ago. My sense is that, yes, drug consumption is increasing,” said Singh in an interview with Moneycontrol.com.
Data from the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment estimates that the number of opioid users increased to 23 million in 2018, a 600 percent increase since 2004.
The Central government has stated that it has taken a strict policy towards narcotics and aimed to destroy 75,000 kg of drugs in the year to mark 75 years of Independence.
The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) recently destroyed 30,000 kg of drugs across four locations. Recently, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said that the NCB has destroyed nearly 82,000kg of drugs and it will reach 1 lakh kg by August 15.
