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Chemistry PhD holder mastermind in alprazolam racket
Chemistry PhD holder mastermind in alprazolam racket

Time of India

time6 days ago

  • Time of India

Chemistry PhD holder mastermind in alprazolam racket

Hyderabad: The man who played a key role in manufacturing 100 kg of alprazolam, seized from two factories in Maharashtra recently, holds a PhD in Chemistry, according to police investigating the case. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now The drug was allegedly supplied to toddy compounds in Telangana and Karnataka. Following raids on two premises in Ahilyanagar and Satara of Maharashtra, TG Anti Narcotics Bureau (TGANB) officials found that the factories were illegally manufacturing alprazolam without obtaining necessary permission from govt authorities. Providing crucial technical support to the gang was Amar Singh Deshmukh from Satara district, who holds a PhD in Chemistry from a college in Pune. "He owns Suryaprabha Pharmachem in Satara. From the outside, it looks like any other factory. He is an expert in improvising the chemical to stage 4 and 5 by sourcing stage-3 chemicals through his contacts," a TGANB official told TOI. Police have named Prasad Kadere of Umarga Osmanabad as the prime accused in this racket, while the others were identified as Vishwanath from Daund, Choudary Shabbir Ali from Umarga, Parmeshwar Vijay Bardale from Lathur, Swamy Goud from Gulbarga in Karnataka, and M Laxman Goud of Nizamabad district. It was Deshmukh who, after producing the drug, supplied it to Prasad. The prime accused then handed it over to the two transporters — Ali and Parameshwar. Swamy and Goud received the consignment from transporters and distributed it among known toddy compound owners. Drug was at stage-5 during raid "The main challenge for the bureau was to ensure that all the accused — located at different places in Maharashtra, Telangana and Karnataka — were caught simultaneously along with the drug. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now A coordinated effort from inter-state police was needed so that none of them could escape. The raid was conducted after we got information that the preparation of the drug was in stage 5, which is when it is called alprazolam," an official said. Under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985, chemical combination up to stage-3 in the making of alprazolam is not an offence. "If anyone processes the substance to stage-4 and stage-5, it becomes an offence. We were particular about the seizure of the drug at that stage," another source added. Although the police seized 100 kg of alprazolam and 338 kg of stage-4 chemical, officials during the questioning of the arrested, found that 100 kg of alprazolam had already been sold. Youth offered initial lead After reports of adulterated toddy came to light in April in Kamareddy district, TGANB officials, with the help of district police, conducted awareness camps involving youngsters. They were given sports kits and motivated to share information related to drug abuse. A few days later, while police were probing the adulterated toddy case, some youth offered information, which acted as initial leads that eventually unravelled the inter-state drug racket.

Cops trace drug-laced toddy racket origin to Maha
Cops trace drug-laced toddy racket origin to Maha

Time of India

time30-05-2025

  • Time of India

Cops trace drug-laced toddy racket origin to Maha

1 2 3 Hyderabad: Telangana Anti-Narcotics Bureau (TGANB) probing the alprazolam-laced toddy case in the state has traced the origin of the racket to Maharashtra. The link to the racket --- which led to over 80 people falling ill in Kamareddy district last month --- came to light following the arrest of six people, including manufacturers and middlemen, from Maharashtra earlier this week. Officials said the key individuals operating the racket were leading a luxurious life, moving in swanky cars and hoarding huge amounts of cash. Based on the confessions of the accused, the bureau officials discovered two factories in Maharashtra's Umarga and Kharad where drugs were being manufactured illegally. "Apart from the 100 kg of ready-to-use alprazolam, we also found 338 kg of chemicals that had reached stage 4. Alprazolam production is a five-stage chemical process," a bureau source told TOI. The six accused, including manufacturers Amar Singh Deshmukh and Babu Rao Baswaraj Kadere and middlemen Laxman Goud and Vishwanth, have been brought to Telangana on a prisoner transit warrant. "The searches were conducted earlier this week with the support of local police. Simultaneous raids at multiple locations helped us nab the accused. Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Giao dịch CFD với công nghệ và tốc độ tốt hơn IC Markets Đăng ký Undo Some of them are henchmen of local politicians and were using their political clout to run the drug manufacturing business," a TGANB official said. The manufacturers had built a network through which they were supplying alprazolam to toddy compounds. "The arrested accused were supplying the drug to toddy compounds located in various rural districts of Telangana. Their network spans across Karnataka and the erstwhile districts of Adilabad, Nizamabad, and Medak. It was a three-day operation that led to the unravelling of this racket," an official said. The accused were selling 1 kg of alprazolam for Rs 25 lakh. To adulterate toddy, just one gram of the drug was enough for 2,000 bottles, officials said. "The manufacturers were making huge profits from this illegal business. For every rupee invested, they were making a profit of Rs 100. The accused owned multiple high-end cars and, at any given time, had at least Rs 25 lakh in cash," an official added. At the time of arrest, police seized Rs 12 lakh in cash from them.

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