DRI dismantles clandestine Mephedrone manufacturing unit in Ankleshwar, Gujarat; seizes Rs. 21 lakh
DRI’s Ankleshwar raid exposes an illicit Mephedrone laboratory and the wider problem of synthetic-drug trafficking under the NDPS Act, 1985.
- The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence found a residential illicit laboratory used for Mephedrone manufacture and trafficking.
- Mephedrone is a psychotropic substance under the NDPS Act, 1985, so its manufacture, possession, sale, transport, and trafficking are illegal except for authorised scientific or medical purposes.
- Clandestine drug manufacture depends on precursor chemicals, laboratory equipment, and cash-based trafficking networks.
The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) dismantled a clandestine Mephedrone manufacturing facility operating from a residential premises in Ankleshwar, Gujarat. The operation matters for UPSC because it links synthetic-drug trafficking, precursor chemical control, and enforcement under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985.
What happened
According to the Ministry of Finance, DRI officers carried out an intelligence-led operation and found a fully functional illicit laboratory with manufacturing apparatus used for Mephedrone production. Three persons were arrested in connection with the network.
UPSC may frame this as a question on the rise of synthetic psychotropic substances, the role of precursor chemicals in drug manufacture, and the enforcement challenge before agencies such as the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence and the Narcotics Control Bureau. The issue also fits internal security and governance because it links organised trafficking networks with the legal framework under the NDPS Act, 1985.
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