The Gujarat Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) on Tuesday said it seized nearly 1,700 kg of chemical power worth Rs 34 lakh, which was meant to produce the psychotropic drug Alprazolam.
As per a release issued by the ATS, the chemical was seized from a warehouse of a chemical factory in Morbi town on August 19. Alprazolam is used to treat anxiety and panic disorders and is also a psychotropic substance notified under the Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act.
On August 17, the ATS arrested six persons in connection with the seizure of 225 kg of party drug mephedrone worth Rs 1,125 crore in a raid at an under-construction factory near Vadodara city. The accused were remanded to the ATS custody till August 26 by a court here, the release said.
Investigations revealed that the key accused Mahesh Vaishnav and another accused Piyush Patel had also planned to make money by manufacturing and selling Alprazolam. The duo had started the process of manufacturing the psychotropic drug at a factory in Morbi in the garb of producing pesticides a few months ago, the agency stated in the release.
Of the total seven steps to produce the drug, the duo had already completed two processes and stored the derived chemical powder in the factory godown, it said.
While an ATS team raided the godown in Morbi and seized the powder worth Rs 34 lakh, another team raided Vaishnav's residence in Surat and seized Rs 50 lakh cash, which he had received by selling a small quantity of mephedrone manufactured at a chemical factory in Bharuch district, it was stated.
