A meth lab being run by a Tihar jail warden, a Delhi-based businessman and a Mumbai-based chemist, was busted in Greater Noida on October 25 and 95 kg of drugs was seized in the operation.
Following intelligence about a clandestine laboratory involved in the production of synthetic drugs for both domestic use and export, a team of NCB and the Special Cell of the Delhi Police, conducted a raid in Greater Noida.
The raid was conducted after it was found that members of 'Cartel De Jalisco Nueva Generacion', a Mexican drug cartel, were also involved in the production of drugs.
Approximately 95 kg of methamphetamine in solid and liquid forms was uncovered in the operation, along with various precursor chemicals and advanced manufacturing machinery.
Among those arrested was a Delhi-based businessman, found at the site, who was previously detained by the Department of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) for a narcotics case. He had established connections with the Tihar Jail warden, who allegedly assisted him in procuring the necessary chemicals and equipment for drug production.
A Mumbai-based chemist was also brought in by the other accused to oversee the manufacturing process, while quality checks were performed by a cartel member residing in Delhi.
All four suspects were presented before a magistrate on October 27, who remanded them to three days in police custody for further investigation. In a subsequent operation, an associate of the businessman was detained from Rajouri Garden.
Authorities are tracing the financial trails and assets acquired through this illegal operation. The NCB has highlighted the increasing trend of establishing clandestine drug labs in industrial areas to avoid detection by local law enforcement, with similar labs dismantled earlier this year in Gujarat, Rajasthan, and Madhya Pradesh.
In two recent raids conducted within a week in early October, the Delhi Police Special Cell uncovered massive international drug syndicate, seizing drugs worth an estimated Rs 7,600 crore.
The operation began with a raid in Delhi's Mahipalpur where officials seized a record 560 kilograms of cocaine and 40 kilograms of marijuana from Thailand, worth approximately Rs 5,600 crore. According to police, the syndicate had smuggled the drugs into India through Uttar Pradesh, using road transport from Thailand.
Earlier, in another raid in West Delhi's Ramesh Nagar, police discovered 204 kilograms of high-quality cocaine concealed in snack packets, valued at Rs 2,000 crore in the international market. The drugs were part of a larger shipment being prepared for distribution in Mumbai and other states, police said.
The syndicate, which operated using code words and encrypted communication, had links to foreign suppliers based in the UK and the Middle East.
