Drug worth Rs27.5 croree seized in Palghar, 2 held

The Palghar local crime branch (LCB), along with the Gujarat police, raided a godown in Palghar's Wada on Thursday evening and seized drugs worth Rs27.5 crore. Two persons were also taken into custody.

Samples of the seized drug, most likely to be Mandrax, will soon be sent to laboratories. This is the first time that such a huge amount of drugs has been seized in the tribal district. "The drug is suspected to be Mandrax. The joint operation with the Gujarat police was conducted after receiving a specific tip-off. The seized drug will be destroyed after court's permission," said an LCB officer, requesting anonymity.

Recently, the Thane police had busted an "international drug racket" after seizing ephedrine worth Rs2,500 crore from the Solapur facility of pharmaceutical company Avon Lifesciences Limited.

"We cannot deny that the drug seized in Wada has a link with the recent arrests made by the Thane and Gujarat police. Being a tribal area, smugglers don't expect a crackdown here and most such godowns remain undetected," said a senior LCB officer.