MDMA laboratory busted in MP's Mandsaur; one held

Mandsaur (MP), Jan 14 (PTI) The Central Bureau of Narcotics (CBN) has busted a clandestine laboratory manufacturing MDMA, a psychotropic drug, in a deserted area in Madhya Pradesh's Mandsaur district, an official said on Tuesday.

The agency has arrested one person in connection with the raid, he said.

Acting on a tip-off, officers of the CBN's state unit raided an orange orchard near Kharkheda village under Garoth tehsil and found a clandestine laboratory operating there, the agency stated in a release.

The team recovered 80.96 kg and 7.5 litres of chemicals, including acetone, toluene, hydrochloric acid, sodium sulphate, sodium carbonate, sulphuric acid, bromine water, ethanol, etc.

Equipment and machinery such as a UV controller, vacuum oven, weighing scales, test tubes, funnels, and other items were also seized from the premises.

These chemicals and apparatus were enough to manufacture more than 50 kg of illicit MDMA powder per month, the release said.

Following the raid, one person has been arrested under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act.

The laboratory was set up in a remote place with no approach road, and the officials reached the site on foot and found a structure in the orange orchard.

On interrogation, the accused revealed that other chemicals needed for manufacturing MDMA powder were buried in a nearby field. The spot was dug up, and the contraband was seized, the release said. PTI COR ADU ARU