Satara: In Pachputewadi (Tulsan) of Karad Taluka, a team from the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) carried out a major operation. After conducting a sudden but secret surveillance at a production site of the lethal narcotic Mephedrone Drug (MD), they raided the location and seized approximately 700 grams of the substance. Since the site was essentially a factory for manufacturing the lethal mephedrone drug, it was destroyed, and mephedrone worth crores of rupees was seized.
In this case, the DRI team has detained four individuals. However, neither the local police nor the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had any clue about this secret operation. While the local administrative machinery was fast asleep, this action was executed by senior DRI officials. They stated that detailed information would be provided only after a thorough investigation, however, they mentioned that the value of this material in the international market is in the crores while refusing to provide further details.
This action has once again caused a major sensation among drug mafias and illegal business operators in the Satara district, while the ignorant local police force has been jolted awake. The team has detained four people, including the property owner, and extreme confidentiality is being maintained as part of the in-depth investigation.
Maharashtra: DRI Busts Secret MD Drug Factory In Satara's Karad, Seizes Narcotics Worth ₹6,000 Crore | Sourced
The operation was carried out late Saturday night with high secrecy. Officials and staff of the Revenue Intelligence Agency arrived in the Pachputewadi area in three vehicles. They raided a closed shed located behind the Zilla Parishad Primary School in the village. At this location, barrels and the drug mephedrone in liquid form were found being manufactured. The team conducted a formal 'Panchnama' of the entire operation and sealed the closed shed where the drugs were being produced. Additionally, a legal notice regarding the action has been posted on the said shed. Since locals are talking about drugs being manufactured at this site, various speculations are being made as to why the local police or the Food and Drug Administration could not trace this or whether the machinery was fast asleep.
Notably, this is not the first time that the production, sale, and large stockpiles of narcotics have been found in the Satara district. Previously, the Mumbai Economic Offences Wing had seized mephedrone drugs worth 50 crore rupees in the Savari-Bamnoli area under the jurisdiction of the Medha Police Station. That case had also sparked a major political controversy. Whether it was that big raid in Medha or the current racket destroyed in Pachputewadi, in both instances, outside investigative agencies obtained accurate information about crimes in the rural areas of Satara, yet the local police or intelligence agencies did not have the slightest hint of such illegal businesses operating within their own jurisdiction. A serious question is now being raised: Is the 'intelligence' of the Local Crime Branch (LCB) and the concerned police stations fast asleep?
When Satara District Superintendent of Police, Tushar Doshi, was asked about this, he took a "that wasn’t me” stance, stating that the Satara Police had no connection with this action. He further clarified that the operation belonged to the DRI and they had not given any prior intimation to the district police. Consequently, even after two major operations in the district within the last two months, first in Medha and now in Karad, the local police remaining completely ignorant and the district head taking such a stance are being viewed with astonishment by the public. Everyone in the district is now watching to see when the "fast asleep" local machinery will finally "wake up" to save Satara district from the clutches of narcotics.
A major operation by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) near Karad has come to light, where a raid on a factory producing MD drugs resulted in the seizure of MD drugs worth a staggering 6,000 crore rupees.
In an empty poultry shed in Pachputewadi village of Karad taluka, the narcotic substance MD drugs had been manufactured for the past several days. Obtaining this information very secretly, a team of three IPS officers conducted a raid, uncovering and destroying a factory producing the narcotic MD drugs at that location. In this case, four individuals, including a habitual criminal on police record, have been taken into custody. According to locals, the drugs were being manufactured by a youth from Bihar.
This drug factory was operating in Pachputewadi village, located in a remote, hilly area at the foothills of the Sahyadri mountain range in Karad taluka, within the jurisdiction of the Karad Rural Police Station. Drug production was being carried out in an empty poultry shed located some distance from the village. Based on the information received, the DRI team conducted a raid on Saturday evening and carried out an in-depth investigation until Sunday morning. MD drugs and raw materials were seized from the shed. Additionally, the suspects have been taken into custody, and the poultry shed has been sealed.
A notorious criminal on record had started the production of narcotics in an empty poultry shed with the help of some youths from Bihar. The tin-roofed shed has iron mesh on the sides. To prevent what was happening inside the shed from being seen from the outside, plastic sheets were tied to the mesh. Drugs were being manufactured very secretly inside the shed. Notably, two police outposts under the Karad Rural Police Station, Undale and Nandgao, are located just a short distance from the incident site. However, surprise is being expressed as to how the local police did not have any inkling of it.
Currently, the investigation of this case is being conducted by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI). Whether anyone else is involved in this drug-manufacturing racket will become clear in the investigation; however, this decisive action has terrified the drug-manufacturing mafia. The action, carried out by keeping the local police unaware and right under their noses, is being considered a major slap to the district police force and their intelligence system. Police officers in Satara district pat their own backs by taking minor actions. However, they did not get a clue that a literal factory for manufacturing narcotics had been operating for many days. This has raised a question mark over the efficiency of the Satara Police Force.
When Karad DYSP Rajshree Patil was contacted in this regard, she said they were not given any idea about this action. Therefore, they do not know exactly what was found in the operation. Also, Karad Rural Police Inspector Mahendra Jagtap said he was not aware of the action. Because of this, it has become clear that the DRI conducted this action suddenly and secretly without giving the Satara District Police any clue, resulting in the humiliation of the local police and the Food and Drug Administration.
