Not too far away, in Maharashtra, a company is manufacturing a banned drug, and distributing it too. Police first apprehended a Nigerian national in Navi Mumbai recently and later two locals. Further interrogation led them to a factory in Solapur, Maharashtra, where the police found about Rs 2000 crores worth of the drug Ephedrine.
Ephedrine is banned in India due to its side effects, which include hallucinations, euphoria, hypertension etc. In fact, these side effects made it a sought after base for drugs like metamphetamine, Ecstasy. It is also used to ‘cut’ cocaine. That the police found this haul of banned substances is commendable, but the relative ease at which these operations
have been going on is questionable.
Now that we have bases of operations where the ingredients
of the drugs are being manufactured, it is time a task force is
assembled to find out where else in the country these drugs
are being synthesized. India cannot become the hub for manufacturing
of illegal drugs.
