Drug Menace: Greater Noida Becoming Meth Hub

Noida: In last one year, police have busted three meth labs that were set up by foreigners inside rented accommodations in Greater Noida, Uttar Presh, and seized more than 100 kg of drugs worth hundreds of crores. latest such raid was carried out on April 17 in which four Nigerian nationals were held and 26.67 kg of methylenedioxyphenethylamine, or MDMA, worth Rs 100 crore was seized.

Police recovered over 75 kg of MDMA, also known as ecstasy or molly, in two separate but linked raids on May 16 and May 30 last year, arresting around a dozen foreigners from residential houses where proper labs were set up for cooking meth.

cooked meth in se two episodes was collectively valued at over Rs 350 crore, according to police. According to police, se recoveries could be just "tip of iceberg" of an international drug syndicate. 

In all se incidents, y found that meth in "pure form" was cooked by foreigners who worked in lower rung of syndicate.

This meth was sent to ir contact person in Delhi and from re to Europe through channels that are yet to be investigated, an officer involved in investigation told PTI.

"Using raw material which was provided to m by ir contacts in Delhi, accused in Greater Noida cooked meth. It was dried inside houses and n given form of a solid brick of six inch by one inch before being parcelled out to ir networks in Delhi who met m on need-to-know basis," officer said.

At least three of several police personnel that PTI spoke to, concurred that Greater Noida, because of its less-dense residential facilities and easy connectivity to Delhi, served as an ideal place for manufacturing drug.

"In all three cases, houses rented by foreigners were in isolated locations and h open area on at least three-sides so that pungent smell emanating due to meth cooking does not catch attention of people living close by," an officer said.

What also me Greater Noida a perfect place for activity was availability of some raw materials, which are difficult to procure abro.

For instance, availability of Ephedrine, a medication and stimulant which is prohibited under NDPS Act and whose sale is also banned by government.

Ephedrine, although available for pharmaceutical purposes, comes with a lot of regulation.

A police officer said drug costs Rs 80,000 to Rs 90,000 per kg but is sold in black market for Rs 2 lakh to Rs 3 lakh per kg. It is be difficult to procure in Europe and even when it is up for sale, it would cost Rs 8 lakh to Rs 10 lakh per kg.

" profit margin by operating here is more than double. Also, meth is second most expensive to cocaine and what y cooked here in Greater Noida was not meant for local supply but was to be exported," officer ded.

Police are now investigating how foreigners procured Ephedrine locally.

During ir latest raid, police also found that drug suppliers were using some less-known shopping apps to parcel cooked meth. ir associates, wher in India or abro, simply placed order for a product and gave a foreign location as delivery dress.

"Once meth reached Delhi, it was concealed in sole of shoes, or creatively concealed inside hair extensions, or neatly ticked inside bales of textile clos that are exported in bulk. It's difficult to detect drugs, though agencies have thwarted many such attempts with use of intelligence and insider network," he said.

According to police, all persons arrested in three cases are currently in jail.