A suspected inter-state drug manufacturing network operating from facilities in Telangana and Maharashtra has widened beyond the Bibi Nagar bust, after EAGLE police traced an illegal unit to a rented poultry farm in Maregaon, in Maharashtra’s Yavatmal district, and helped secure the arrest of three people under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act.
The arrests followed a complaint filed by EAGLE sleuths, after which Maharashtra police registered a criminal case on Monday against Saddam Hussain, Rakesh Verma and Jairaj Shetty. Police allege that the three were involved in the Bibi Nagar and Maregaon operations.
The investigation began after EAGLE police raided Vetukuri Labs in Bibi Nagar in August and seized 27 kg of mephedrone and 56 kg of acetone. Follow-up inquiries led investigators to Maregaon, around 150 km from Nagpur, where a poultry farm had allegedly been used as a front for an illegal manufacturing facility since 2024.
According to police, the farm owner was unaware of the activity and the premises are now abandoned. During the raid, investigators seized raw materials and equipment, including three 25-litre tins of toluene, hydrochloric acid, phosphorus oxychloride and about five 200-litre drums.
An EAGLE official said the accused allegedly used the Maregaon unit to manufacture ephedrine, alprazolam and mephedrone, with the assistance of Anand Kumar, a Bahadurpally resident in Hyderabad. Police allege that Kumar had expertise in setting up infrastructure for such facilities and also owned a company. His role, along with that of other suspected associates, remains part of the investigation.
The police account indicates that the network relied on ordinary commercial and agricultural premises to establish production sites. Investigators said that in June 2024, a person identified as Krishna contacted Kumar to install reflection and distillation units. Krishna allegedly travelled to Nagpur with Chetan Madhukar Meshram, a key accused arrested during the August drug bust, and an employee identified as Inamul. They reportedly spent two to three days installing the equipment at an agricultural field.
EAGLE director Sandeep Shandilya said Chetan allegedly sourced precursor chemicals from Vadodara and transported them to locations including Valsad, Nagpur, Jeedimetla and Bibi Nagar. Police also alleged that he employed several people, mostly from Assam, and sent them to different illegal units in Telangana and Maharashtra after training them at the facilities.
The case illustrates the difficulty of detecting hazardous industrial activity when premises are rented or presented as farms and other legitimate facilities. The seized chemicals and equipment indicate that investigators are examining not only the finished drugs but also the procurement, transport, installation and labour network supporting the units.
Police are continuing to investigate the alleged role of Fadh Shaikh, who is accused of helping Chetan identify locations and arrange logistics. Investigators said they were searching for him as the probe into the wider network continued.
