Police seize cocaine worth Rs 6cr from pharma company in Satara, 3 arrested
K
olhapur: Law enforcement officials in Satara district raided a private establishment at Tasawde MIDC on May 21 and confiscated 1.3 kg of cocaine, valued at roughly Rs 6.4 crore.
Five men, including the company's proprietor and the cocaine supplier, were charged in connection with this incident, and three of them were arrested on Friday.
Satara superintendent of police Tushar Doshi announced at a press briefing that while one accused (the supplier) is in Telangana police custody, efforts to locate another suspect continue.
Doshi said, "Police received information that narcotics were being stored and manufactured in the private company named Suryaprabha Pharmachem at the Taswade MIDC.
When police raided the company on May 21, around 4 pm, 1,270gm of cocaine worth Rs 6.4 crore was found in the company."
Police arrested arrested three of the company's employees — Sameer Padwal of Malkapur in Karad), Ramesh Patil of Malharpeth in Patan, and Jeevan Chavan of Awarde in Patan. Charges under the Narcotic Drugs Act, 1985, were filed against these three men. Even the company owner Amarsinh Deshmukh, a resident of Satara's Nandgaon, and supplier Vishwanath Shipankar, of Daund in Pune, were charged
During the check of the chemical factory, police seized a questionable substance.
The three employees had initially claimed the company was into manufacturing agricultural medicines and pesticides. Upon examining four plastic bags in a cupboard, officers discovered crystal-like substances. Unsatisfactory responses from the three employees to questioning raised suspicions, leading to the seizure of white-yellow crystalline material.
Initial forensic analysis confirmed it is cocaine.
The cocaine discovery in Satara district suggests potential international connections. Doshi added, "Work is underway to investigate the other three elements found in that company, and an investigation will be conducted to find out where their roots lie and who else is involved in it."
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