Inter-state drug cartel busted near Nepal border, 1 held
One person was arrested during the raid.
The crackdown followed the arrest of two men in Thane, Maharashtra, with 11 grams of MDMA -- Methylenedioxymethamphetamine -- on May 31. Their interrogation led authorities to the Pithoragarh unit run by Monu Gupta and Kunal Kohli.
DGP Deepam Seth said that during the raid on the poultry farm, police recovered chemicals used to produce MDMA. Though no arrests were made initially, three people — Gupta, Bhim Yadav, and Amar Kohli — were later caught trying to flee to Nepal.
Meanwhile, Kunal Kohli and his aides, Rahul and Vikram, escaped to Nepal. Rahul's wife, Isha, was arrested in Champawat with 5.6 kg of MDMA worth over Rs 10 crore.
Police found that the cartel sourced chemicals from a licensed factory in Ghaziabad, and earlier from Thane and Varanasi, where they had operated similar units. Pithoragarh location was chosen for its proximity to Nepal, police added.
Kohli was arrested in Nanakmatta with 7.4 grams of MDMA and raw materials to make 6 kg more. One accused, Vikram, remains at large as Rahul was held a few days ago.
STF SSP Navneet Singh Bhullar said the group learned to make the drug in Thane. MDMA was manufactured in powder form in Pithoragarh, transported to Mumbai by train, and converted into tablets for sale.
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