The Anti-Narcotics Cell of Mumbai police has arrested the owner of an Ambarnath factory where one Prem Prakash Singh allegedly synthesised mephedrone and pumped it into the illegal drug market. This is the eighth arrest in the ₹2,000-crore drug haul case.
Singh and five of his associates were arrested in August and the agency had seized 705 kg mephedrone from a commercial building owned by Singh in Nalasopara. The police also raided a factory in Gujarat, seizing another 513 kg drug and arresting the owner.
According to the police, Jinendra Vora, 54, owner of Namau Chemicals Private Limited, had been under the scanner ever since his name came up in Singh’s interrogation. He was called to the ANC’s Worli unit on September 10 and arrested. His manager, Kiran Pawar, has already been arrested.
“Before moving in on him, we visited his factory and spoke to workers who said that they were made to work on the mephedrone synthesis. They had also raised concerns with Vora and Pawar, asking them what they were making. We had also seized partially synthesised mephedrone from the building,” an ANC officer said.
The officer said further investigation established that Singh had made mephedrone at least four times in Vora’s factory and had paid him up to ₹35 lakh in cash.
Deputy commissioner of police Datta Nalawade, ANC, confirmed that Vora had been arrested.
Vora was produced before a special NDPS Act court which remanded him in police custody for 10 days.
In the next stage of its investigation, the ANC will be going after the drug peddlers whose names have come to light, sources said.
An organic chemistry postgraduate, Singh, allegedly put his knowledge to use for producing mephedrone and is said to have been among the biggest suppliers of the drug in Mumbai and nearby cities. An examination of his bank accounts has revealed deposits and transactions amounting to around ₹50 crore. He also owns a three-BHK flat in Dahisar, two shops in Nalasopara, and three plots of land just outside Mumbai.
