DRI Arrests Three in Vapi Over Rs. 180 Crore Narcotics Seizure

Vapi : The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) has arrested three individuals, including the owner of Prime Polymer Industries, in connection with the illicit production of Mephedrone at GIDC Vapi, situated in the Valsad District of Gujarat. The accused have been remanded in three days of custody by the Chief Judicial Magistrate in Vapi on Tuesday.

The DRI’s meticulous operation at the Vapi industrial unit resulted in the seizure of a staggering 121.75 kilograms of Mephedrone liquid with an estimated value of Rs. 180 crore. The accused have been identified as Raju Narendra Singh, 42, the proprietor of Prime Polymer Industries, Keyur Patel, 31, the accountant of Prime Polymer Industries, and Futil Yadav, also known as Kundan Yadav, 30, a laborer at Prime Polymer.

The arrests were made under Section 42 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985. The accused were produced before the Vapi court on Tuesday, marking a significant step in the investigation.

This operation was initiated based on precise intelligence gathered by DRI teams from Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Surat, and Vapi. The DRI has been actively combatting illicit drug production and trade under the NDPS Act, 1985, as part of its ongoing efforts to maintain law and order in the region.

During their search operations within various locations in GIDC Vapi, the investigative teams uncovered the factory’s involvement in the clandestine manufacturing of Mephedrone. Their suspicions were confirmed when the team from the Forensic Science Lab in Surat and Valsad verified the presence of Mephedrone in the confiscated narcotics substances from the factory. A total of 121.75 kilograms of Mephedrone in liquid form was seized during the operation, further underscoring the magnitude of the operation.

In a related development, a residential search linked to the proprietor of the company led to the recovery of approximately Rs. 18 lakhs in cash. The estimated illegal market value of the seized narcotics substances, which is reported to be over Rs. 180 crores, has been confiscated in accordance with the relevant provisions of the NDPS Act, 1985.

This operation in Vapi follows a previous success by the DRI when they dismantled a syndicate involved in the manufacturing of Mephedrone in a chemical unit in Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar, Maharashtra. During that operation, over Rs. 400 crores worth of narcotics substances were seized, leading to the discovery of two clandestine labs involved in the production of Mephedrone.