DRI busts party drug factory; seizes contraband worth Rs 2.5 cr

New Delhi, January 3

An illegal drug manufacturing unit near here was busted by officials of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) and party drug worth Rs 2.5 crore has been seized.

The factory in Alwar’s Bhiwadi area was manufacturing Ketamine. The officers found an extensive set up with centrifuge, dryers, distillers and scrubbers which were set up to manufacture the drug, a press release issued by the DRI said.

Ketamine is used in powdered or liquid form as an anaesthetic usually on animals but is popularly misused by addicts. It is also known as ‘date rape’ and party drug. It can be injected, consumed in drinks, snorted, or added to joints or cigarettes.

In a coordinated operation late last month, the DRI officers raided the factory set up in industrial area of Bhiwadi, about 65 km from here.

The DRI has seized 64.3 kg of Ketamine, around 12 kg of intermediary product and sealed the factory along raw material. The main accused has been arrested from Palam area here, it said.

Ketamine is classified as a psychotropic substance under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985. A license from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is required to manufacture the drug and import or export permit is required from the Central Bureau of Narcotics, Gwalior, to trade in the drug.

Earlier this year, factories in Kurutuwadi, Maharashtra, Konduskar in Sagli, Mt Abu and in Hyderabad were busted and sealed by the DRI for illegal manufacture of drugs like mephedrone, methamphetamine and alprazolam. — PTI