Clandestine MD factory busted in UP, supplies traced to Ahmedabad

Ahmedabad: The Gujarat Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) busted a clandestine mephedrone (MD) manufacturing unit in Uttar Pradesh's Ambedkar Nagar district and seized large quantities of drugs and precursor chemicals, exposing an inter-state supply network linked to Ahmedabad.The operation stems from a March 1 seizure of 4.6g of mephedrone in Ahmedabad's Danilimda area. Following the seizure, ATS arrested three persons and registered a case under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act. During interrogation, investigators learned that the contraband was sourced from suppliers based in Uttar Pradesh.Acting on technical inputs and human intelligence, ATS teams tracked suspicious activity to a remote village in Ambedkar Nagar. Officials conducted nearly 12 days of surveillance and observed unusual movement at a poultry farm, particularly around a tin shed structure.Based on confirmed inputs, a joint raid was carried out with the Uttar Pradesh police. During the search, a fully operational laboratory manufacturing mephedrone was discovered.Two persons were detained from the site. They were identified as Kapildev Sharma (31), a Class 12 pass, and Ramshankar Parshuram (30), a Class 10 pass, both residents of Churvanpur village in Ambedkar Nagar.Officials seized 6kg of finished mephedrone, 50kg of liquid MD, and 88kg of 2-bromo-4-methyl propiophenone, a precursor recently classified as a controlled substance under the NDPS Act. In addition, around 200kg of other raw materials and chemicals used in drug production were recovered.Preliminary investigation indicates that the accused had set up the unit in a secluded rural area to evade detection and were supplying drugs to multiple states, including Gujarat. Further investigation was underway to identify the broader network and distribution channels.