Illegal Alprazolam factory busted in Rajasthan, 3 held
Arrested
Ahmedabad: What looked like a routine pharmaceutical unit in Rajasthan's Bhiwadi turned out to be an illegal drug manufacturing factory. Gujarat ATS and Rajasthan Police jointly uncovered an illegal alprazolam making factory, arresting three accused and seizing drug worth Rs 30 lakh.
The accused had rented a pharmaceutical unit to manufacture the drug commonly prescribed for anxiety and panic disorders, but can also be misused as a psychotropic substance. Alprazolam falls under the purview of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act due to its potential for abuse.
Acting on specific inputs, personnel of Gujarat ATS and Rajasthan Police raided the unit on Sunday, leading to the arrest of Anshul Shastri, Akhilesh Maurya, and Krishnakumar Yadav, PTI reported.
Police recovered 5 kg of alprazolam and 17 kg of a mixture of other psychotropic substances used as raw material, taking the total seizure to 22 kg, valued at around Rs 30 lakh, said the release.
The substances were allegedly being manufactured illegally without any authorisation or licence, and were meant for sale in the illicit drug market.
A preliminary investigation suggested that one of the arrested accused, Shastri, was involved in sourcing raw materials required for manufacturing alprazolam through his trading firm, according to the release.
Shastri and his business partner Maurya took a pharma unit in Bhiwadi on rent with the help of Yadav, a chemist versed in the production process, it said.
Rajasthan Police registered an FIR at the Bhiwadi sector-3 police station following the raid under relevant sections of the NDPS Act and are investigating further.
Read also: Varanasi: 5 held for supplying cough syrup by creating fake pharma cos
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