The Mumbai Crime Branch has busted a mephedrone (MD) drug manufacturing unit operating from a shed locally known as ‘Jalka Wada’ in Savari village in Satara district of Maharashtra. Police seized 7.5 kg of MD drugs worth around Rs 50 crore, 38 kg of liquid narcotics and a large quantity of raw materials and equipment, taking the total seizure to Rs 115 crore. Three people have been arrested in connection with the case.
According to police, the investigation began after 136 grams of mephedrone was seized from two persons in Mulund West, Mumbai. During interrogation, the suspects revealed links with a man living in Thane, which eventually led investigators to Pune. Police later arrested a suspect from Thane and another from Pune.
Interrogation revealed that MD drugs were manufactured at a farm in Savari village. The illegal unit was found in ‘Jalka Wada’ and was earlier used as a buffalo shed.
A neighboring village is notably associated with Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.
Meanwhile, Maharashtra Congress president Harshwardhan Sapkal has stepped up his attack on the state government. In a post on
Sapkal wanted to know how laborers from West Bengal, who were reportedly arrested on the spot, were accommodated in such a remote area and under whose help they were helped. He also raised questions about the alleged role of one Omkar Dighe, alleging that Dighe had tried to use the property for work related to Shiv Sena corporator Prakash Shinde. Sapkal claimed that Dighe was detained on the spot but later released under political pressure.
The Congress leader also wondered since when Dighe was living in Savari village, who facilitated his stay, and whether nearly 40 other laborers working at the site were allowed to flee. Referring to Vishal More’s arrest with two kilos of mephedrone, Sapkal said More is the Pune student wing head of the NCP’s Ajit Pawar faction and sought clarification on his alleged links with Dighe and Prakash Shinde.
Sapkal further questioned Prakash Shinde’s movement from Tejas Hotel after the arrests and asked whether the police conducted a panchnama at the hotel. He also expressed concern over the presence of senior officials of the Mumbai Crime Branch and the Satara Superintendent of Police at the location, questioning the ‘secrecy’ surrounding the raid.
Calling the matter serious, Sapkal criticized Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who also manages the housing portfolio, for remaining silent and demanded an immediate and transparent clarification from the government. Congress has alleged that there is an attempt to downplay the scale of the operation and suppress information related to the case.
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