‘Biggest’ drug racket busted, producer held

The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) — in what has been called the biggest drug seizure in history — has got hold of 23.38 metric tonnes of Methaqualone or Mandrax tablets with an estimated worth of Rs 3,000 crore in Udaipur. Mandrax is banned under schedule I of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act.

The seizure led to arrest of Subhash Dudani, a Mumbai-based Bollywood producer and businessman, at his residence at Seven Bungalows in Andheri (west) on Sunday. He has been sent to Udaipur. The Mumbai Airport Customs’ Air Intelligence Unit had previously caught Dudani in 1991 for allegedly smuggling Rs 13 lakh in foreign currency.

During his investigation, Dudani had claimed that he had spent about Rs 1 crore to manufacture the whole consignment and each tablet was to be sold at the rate of USD $2-3.

Officials suspect that the drugs were to be exported to South Africa or Mozambique.

Dudani resided with his family in the city while his nephew, Ravi Dudani, allegedly operated from Udaipur. The DRI caught Ravi while he was allegedly in possession of the pills at RIICO, an industrial area in Udaipur, on October 28.

The DRI had sought help from the Border Security Force (BSF) for its operation and also stored the 2,000 crore seized pills with the border-guarding force.

A statement released by the agency read, “A syndicate of the drug dealers manufactured the major raw material for Methaqualone tablets (Mandrax), acetic anhydride at Shreenath Industries (Rajsamand, Rajasthan). The other raw materials for Methaqualone, apart from acetic anhydride are anthranilic acid (which was imported from Indonesia from Kandla Port by mis-declaring it as mallic anhydride), Ortho toluidine, phosporous trichloride and caustic soda (obtained locally).”

Speaking about the monumental drug bust, a DRI official said, “There hasn’t been any Mandrax seizure in tonnes anywhere in the world, making this the biggest seizure ever. Udaipur is renowned as a destination for New Year celebrations. This party drug would probably be stored for New Year parties. Dudani has been sent to Udaipur on transit remand after he admitted the crime. Further investigations are in process.”

Dudani was one of the producers of the 2011 Hindi film Vikalp, which starred Alok Nath. However, when The Asian Age spoke to Mr Nath, he said he couldn’t recall working on any such movie.

Meanwhile, finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Wednesday evening congratulated the DRI on Twitter for the success of its seizure.