Maharashtra ANTF busts drug factories in Bengaluru, raises questions about city police surveillance

Bengaluru: In a joint operation, the Maharashtra Anti-Narcotics Task Force (ANTF) and Bengaluru City police, busted three mephedrone manufacturing units in three places at Spandana Layout Colony in Bagaluru, N G Gollahalli in Kothanur and Yarappanahalli in Avalahalli, police station limits on Saturday.

Soon after the raid, the Maharashtra police said that they have seized contraband worth Rs 55.88 crore, along with machinery and chemicals, from two manufacturing units and one storage facility - some of which were operating under the guise of event management and warehouse businesses. Investigators suspect the drugs were being supplied to multiple states.

The city police commissioner Seemant Kumar Singh, who also visited the spot on Sunday to gather more details, said that the seized material was chemical stock stored in a go down, which was allegedly intended for drug processing. He clarified that the total estimation of the seizure was worth less than Rs 6 crore and not Rs 55.88 crore as claimed.

He further stated that the seizure was the result of a joint operation by the Maharashtra Anti-Narcotics Task Force (ANTF) and Bengaluru City Police. Senior officers from the Central Crime Branch (CCB) were part of the operation, and local police were present at the spot during the raid.

What led to the bust

According to the ANTF officials, the chain of events began on December 21 when the Konkan unit of ANTF conducted a raid in Vashi in Navi Mumbai and arrested one Abdul Qadir Rashid Shaikh along with 1.488 kilograms of mephedrone worth Rs 1.48 crore. Investigations revealed further details of the key accused identified as Prashant Yallappa Patil, a resident of Belgaum, linked to the manufacture of mephedrone at three units in Bengaluru.

Based on a tip off, ANTF officials arrested Suraj Ramesh Yadav and Malkhan Ramlal Bishnoi after conducting raids at these units," he said. "Yadav and Bishnoi, both from Rajasthan, have confessed to preparing synthetic drugs at these units and they had set up the factories. Efforts are on to nab two more persons in this drug network, " the official said.

Bengaluru police officials, however, said they would examine whether the accused had registered the units using forged documents or benami arrangements, making detection difficult. A senior officer told DH that a joint probe would now be initiated to trace local facilitators and identify any lapses. The case has once again underscored the growing challenge of synthetic drug networks using Bengaluru as a production base, while enforcement breakthroughs are increasingly coming from outside the state.

Joint operation

However, Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara on Sunday said the recent drug seizure in Bengaluru was a collective operation carried out with the Maharashtra Anti-Narcotics Task Force (ANTF) and should not be seen as a failure of the state police, as alleged by some. The racket came to light only after sustained interrogation of accused arrested outside Karnataka, eventually leading the ANTF to Bengaluru.

Responding to claims that Maharashtra police carried out the raid on their own, the Home Minister G Parameshwara further said that the action was taken with the cooperation of Karnataka police, based on specific inputs shared by their Maharashtra counterparts. “I am not justifying that our police did not act. This was a collective operation. I am also not saying that our police failed,” he said. He clarified that information about those involved in drug supply was provided by Maharashtra police, following which joint action was initiated. “We conducted the raid in coordination with Maharashtra police,” he added. Stressing the government’s stand against narcotics, the Home Minister said the fight against drugs was a priority at all levels.

At the same time, he warned that any negligence by jurisdictions police personnel would not be tolerated. "However, I have warned our officers that such incidents should not recur,” he said. He added that action would be taken against anyone found guilty of dereliction of duty. “We have already initiated action. It will not stop at suspension alone. Strict action will be taken, including against officers concerned, up to the level of senior officials of the sub division," the Home Minister said.