India’s Breaking Bad: Synthetic Drugs Worth At Least Rs 2,300 Crore Seized 

The Department of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) has seized 23.5 metric tonne (23,500 kilograms) of mandrax tablets (methaqualone) estimated to be worth between Rs 2,300 crore to Rs 4,000 crore from Udaipur, Rajasthan. Commenting on the seizure, the Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) Chairman Najib Shah said, "This is the largest ever seizure of synthetic drugs in the country." The DRI is the apex counter-smuggling agency of the CBEC.

DRI officers raided the premises of M/s Marudhar Drinks, Bhamasha Industrial Area in Kaladwas, Udaipur on October 28, 2016, according to a press statement released by the agency. The methaqualone warehouse was masquerading as a bottle manufacturing facility, officials said. DRI officials said that the manufacturing facilities were located nearby and the tablets seized were ready for consumption.

Director General of Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI), Jayant Misra told BloombergQuint in an interview that the mastermind has other businesses which links him to the film industry.

Dudani was also the producer of the 2011 hindi thriller, Vikalp.

When asked about where these drugs could possibly be sold, Misra said, "The countries where they were expected to be headed are Mozambique and South Africa. The India consumption link has not yet been established."

Some of the raw materials used to produce madrax were procured under valid licenses. The press statement noted that one of the raw materials (acetic anhydride) was manufactured by Shreenath Industries in Rajsamand, Rajasthan. The other raw materials needed to produce mandrax tablets are anthranilic acid (which was imported from Indonesia and brought in through the Kandla Port by ‘declaring' it as maleic anhydride), ortho toluidine, phosphorous trichloride, and caustic soda (procured locally).

Commenting on the licensed procurement of raw materials, Misra said, "The precursor chemicals out of which these drugs were manufactured are used in other medicines also, but so far as methaqualone is concerned, it is banned. This was being clandestinely manufactured in the country."