Bollywood producer held with drugs worth Rs 4,700 crore
- A Bollywood producer has been arrested in the connection, an official said on Wednesday.
On October 28, DRI officials raided the premises of Udaipur-based Marudhar Drinks and detected a room filled with cartons of banned Mandrax tablets.
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"The total number of tablets are estimated to be about 2 crore in numbers with a weight of about 23.5 metric tonnes.
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The international market value of seized tablets is estimated to be over Rs 3,000 crore," CBEC chairperson Najib Shah said.
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This is the biggest ever drug seizure done by DRI, the investigative arm of the Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC).
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"We have arrested the mastermind and efforts are underway to nab others involved with the drug syndicate," he said.
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Shah said that Subhas Dudhani, who has produced Bollywood films, also had businesses and properties in Mumbai.
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The information came to DRI Mumbai and then it was traced to Udaipur and with active assistance from Border Security Force (BSF), the mastermind was arrested.
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The drug is commonly known as Mandrax,M-Pills, buttons or smarties and is usually smoked mixed with cannabis. It is used as a recreational drug in Africa and Asia.
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"The consignment was manufactured in Rajasthan and consigned for Mozambique or South Africa," he said.
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In last 5 years, the DRI has seized more than 540 kgs of heroin and 7,409 kgs of ephedrine along with other narcotics and psychotropic substances.
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In recent past, the DRI has also neutralised 10 other factories manufacturing synthetic drugs like Mephedrone, Ketamine, Alprazolam and Ephedrine, across several states.