by Pune: A major drug racket has been uncovered in Pune, with Sandeep Dhuney believed to be the mastermind behind the operation. Investigators have revealed that Dhuney and his associates resorted to producing mephedrone (MD) drugs in smaller working units after local authorities, including the police, began monitoring defunct units in industrial areas.
According to the police, previous drug busts involving Lalit Patil, Baby Patankar, and others exposed a pattern of renting defunct industrial units in Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) areas to manufacture MD.
In a recent development, the Pune police seized a large quantity of MD from Pune, New Delhi, and Sangli, leading to the arrest of nine suspects. Among those detained are the owner of a pharma plant in Kurkumbh of Daund tehsil, located 75km from Pune, and a chemical expert from Dombivli.
Dhuney, who was previously apprehended by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) in 2016 for his involvement in a drug haul in Pune, has been identified as the main figure behind the MD racket. The police have issued a lookout circular against Dhuney’s key associate in Mumbai and the chemical expert, Yuvraj Baban Bhujbal.
Investigations revealed that instead of opting for defunct units, the suspects in this case chose to use a functioning unit. Dhuney’s associate in Mumbai approached Earth Chem Pvt Ltd owner, Bhimaji alias Anil Parshuram Sable, to initiate drug production in Kurkumbh to evade detection by authorities like the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and MIDC.
Senior police officials disclosed that synthetic drugs like mephedrone and methamphetamine are now traveling from south to north India, and some even reach London from Delhi for further distribution across European countries. This recent drug bust highlights the growing challenge of drug trafficking and the need for stringent measures to combat such illicit activities.
