Hyderabad drug bust: Accused linked to international drug network spanning eight years

The prime accused in the mephedrone drug bust in Telangana’s Cherlapalli has shipped narcotics to multiple countries, including Dubai and in Europe, in the last eight years, a probe by Maharashtra’s Mira Bhayandar–Vasai Virar (MBVV) police revealed. The Maharashtra police has been given custody for questioning the owner of Vagdevi Laboratories Pvt Ltd, Srinivas Vijay Voleti, and the company’s chemical analyst, Tanaji, till September 15.

Inside the premises of Vagdevi Laboratories in Cherlapalli, police found nearly 5.8 kilograms of mephedrone, 35,500 litres of chemicals (precursor), 950 kilograms of chemical powder, and other equipment used in the production of the synthetic drug, colloquially known as meow meow.

An officer close to the investigation revealed that the 35,500 litres of precursor can be used to produce about 6,000 kilograms of mephedrone. “The value of a gram of mephedrone is ₹20,000 in the international market,” said the officer. By this estimate, the precursor can produce ₹12,000 crore worth of mephedrone. This puts the value of the seized 5.8 kilogram of the narcotic at ₹11.6 crore.

Meanwhile, officers from the Maharashtra police also revealed that more arrests are likely to be made in this case. “The arrests will be made from Hyderabad and from parts of Maharashtra as well,” shared an officer.

So far in the questioning, prime accused in the case Srinivas Vijay Voleti has reportedly revealed to have been operating the manufacturing and selling of the drug since 2017. “We are verifying this by cross checking the dates with customs and other departments,” added the officer.

The Maharashtra police is also planning to submit a petition to extend the custody for questioning beyond September 15 to uncover the full scale of the racket.