JAIPUR: Nearly 65 kilograms of ketamine, popularly known as the `date rape drug’, was seized in a raid conducted by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) at a factory in Alwar’s Bhiwadi area.
The drug seized is estimated at Rs 2.50 crore in the international market.Sources said the drug was to be smuggled to nearby states including Delhi for New Year parties.
The factory owner and four other persons were arrested by DRI sleuths. The raid, which was conducted on December 23, was a joint operation by the agency’s Delhi team, and sleuths from Jaipur, sources said. Besides 64.6 kilograms of ketamine, raw material that was under production was seized by the DRI in a huge quantity . One kilogram of ketamine, a synthetic compound used as an anaesthetic sells for Rs 3.5-4 lakh. The raw material seized is also said to be worth crores of rupees.
The factory owner was identified as Vikas, a resident of Delhi. Sources said the DRI had received information about the factory after interrogation of some drug peddlers arrested in Delhi recently .
The accused were preparing drugs for use during the New Year parties in Delhi and some other cities in north India, sources said. They added that the accused were preparing drugs to be used during the New Year parties in Delhi and other north Indian cities.
The agency teams seized sophisticated equipment used in the production of the drug. A psychotropic substance under the NDPS Act, ketamine is medically used as an anaesthetic on animals including horses, but it has grown popular as a party drug over the past few years.
This is the second major crackdown on drug production and smuggling rackets in the state in the past six months.
Busting an inter-state drug racket spanning across Rajasthan, Gujarat and Maharashtra, the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) had seized 240 kilograms of mephedrone, popularly known as meow meow, in a factory raid at Sirohi’s Mount Abu in May this year.
The DRI officials said that this drug was to be sent to Ahmedabad and Mumbai for the purpose of sale.
