BADLAPUR: Police have busted a secret mephedrone (MD) manufacturing lab that was being run from a house in a residential chawl in Badlapur East. Two men have been arrested, one of them a chemical engineer who police say has run a similar lab before.
Raid in Mankivli village
The Badlapur East police received a tip-off that MD was being made inside a house in a chawl in the Mankivli village area. Acting on it, a police team raided the house under the guidance of senior officers and found a small laboratory set up inside.
The team seized chemicals used to make MD, lab equipment and 11 grams of finished mephedrone. The total seizure is worth ₹2,17,600.
Who are the accused?
Police arrested two men on the spot:
- Kokan Suraju Pahan (42), a resident of Mankivli village
- Santosh Vasant Potnis (54), a resident of neighbouring Kharvai village
Sachin Gore, deputy commissioner of police (Zone 4), said both were caught red-handed.
Engineer is a repeat offender
According to DCP Gore, Potnis is a chemical engineer by profession and used his education to run the drug lab. He is a repeat offender. Earlier, while investigating a case, the Ghatkopar police had seized a similar lab he was running in the rural areas of Badlapur.
Case under NDPS Act
A case has been registered against the two at the Badlapur East police station under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act. A court has remanded both in police custody till October 19.
Residents shaken
A drug lab operating inside a crowded residential chawl has left people in the area shocked.
Police are now investigating whether anyone else was involved. They want to find out where the raw material came from, and who the drugs were being sold to in Badlapur and nearby cities. They are also checking whether the racket was local or spread across states.