Company director, manager brains behind drug production: Officers

Investigations into the Rs2,500 crore drug racket that the Thane police busted recently seem to indicate that the director of Avon Lifesciences Ltd, who led the entire scam, has tried to set up another unit in Mombasa for converting ephedrine into crystal meth to earn more. The main accused has revealed to the police that in spite of suspicion on them, they continued the drug trade.

According to crime branch officers privy to probe details, director Manoj Jain had remained in touch with drug mafias abroad and controlled the sale of narcotics without letting government agencies get wind of the same. His accomplice and manager of the unit, Punit Shringi, made several visits to Vicky Goswami, the alleged drug mafia king in Kenya. The police said that though the company had shut business, it had managed to produce ephedrine.

"They declared less production and smuggled the excess, which was transported to Gujarat and then abroad. Jain revealed that they had planned to set up a unit to convert ephedrine into crystal meth to earn more profits at Mombasa in Kenya after being in touch with Goswami," said an officer.

Jain has been the director of the company since January 31, 2009, and is a qualified chartered accountant. The Thane police will question other company directors; Jain's resignation was accepted by Avon after his arrest.