Rs 3,000-cr drug haul in Rajasthan raids

Yash Goyal

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Udaipur, November 2 

In the biggest-ever drug haul, the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence  (DRI) has seized 23.5 tonnes of Mandrax (methaqualone) worth Rs 3,000 crore in the international market during raids in Udaipur and Rajsamand district of Rajasthan since October 28.

Bollywood producer Subhash Dudani and his nephew Ravi Dudani, from whose pharmaceutical factory (Marudhar Drinks) in Udaipur the contraband was seized, have been arrested under the NDPS (Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances) Act. 

Subhash, believed to be an international drug dealer, operated the business from Mumbai. He was arrested at the Mumbai airport while planning to flee to Dubai where he has large business interests. He owned a flat in Worli and was in Mumbai for Diwali.

He was reportedly brought to Udaipur for interrogation after being kept in detention at the BSF Cantonment in Kavita village, 12 km from Udaipur. “Acting on a tip-off by the DRI, Mumbai, raids were conducted in Udaipur with the help of the BSF and the mastermind nabbed,” said Najib Shah, Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) chairperson, in New Delhi. 

A source in the Narcotic Control Bureau said the seized contraband could have been sold for Rs 10,000-15,000 crore. The Rajasthan Police were kept away from the operation and no cop was allowed on the premises. 

According to official sources, the major raw material for Mandrax, acetic anhydride, was manufactured by the syndicate at Shreenath Industries, Rajsamand. Other raw material, anthranillic acid, was imported from Indonesia by misdeclaring it as mallic anhydride, and ortho toludiene, phosphorous trichloride and caustic soda were procured locally.