New Delhi: Acting on specific intelligence, the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) has successfully dismantled a clandestine mobile mephedrone manufacturing laboratory operating deep inside the Sahyadri ranges, under a special operation codenamed “Operation Sahyadri Checkmate.”
The operation was carried out on January 24, 2026, following sustained surveillance that led to the identification of a camouflaged drug manufacturing unit operating under the cover of a poultry farm. The lab was designed to evade detection by frequently shifting locations and was found to be fully functional and mobile, equipped to manufacture Mephedrone, a prohibited substance under the NDPS Act.
During the raid, DRI officers seized a total of 21.912 kilograms of mephedrone in various forms:
- 11.848 kg in liquid form
- 9.326 kg in semi-liquid form
- 738 grams in crystalline form
In addition, 71.5 kg of raw material capable of producing approximately 15 kg of finished NDPS substance was also recovered. The illicit market value of the seized drugs is estimated at ₹55 crore, officials said.
Arrests and Network Exposure
DRI arrested three individuals at the manufacturing site, including:
- the ‘cook’ involved in drug production,
- the financer-cum-consigner, and
- the owner of the poultry farm, where the laboratory was concealed.
Investigators revealed that the first batch of finished contraband had been hidden at the poultry farm owner’s residence for safekeeping.
In a follow-up operation, DRI teams mounted late-night surveillance near an old octroi toll naka inside a dense forest area and apprehended two additional suspects who were en route to collect the final drug consignment.
Officials disclosed that four out of the five arrested individuals are repeat offenders, previously booked under the NDPS Act or prosecuted under stringent laws including the MCOCA, 1999.
National Security Impact
The operation highlights the DRI’s critical role in disrupting organised drug trafficking networks, which pose serious threats to public health, law and order, and economic stability. Further investigation is underway to trace backward and forward linkages of the syndicate.
