MDMA tablets and ganja worth Rs 1.61 lakh that arrived from the Netherlands were seized at the Foreign Post Office in Chennai , the Customs Department said on Thursday, March 10. Acting on specific inputs, the department officials found MDMA tablets and the narcotic substance in two parcels that came from the Netherlands.
The parcels were addressed to two different individuals in Vijayawada and Hyderabad respectively, a press release said. A total of 32 tablets of MDMA and 419 grams of ganja (cannabis) valued at Rs 1.61 lakh were seized under relevant sections of the Customs Act, 1962 and an investigation was on, it said.
Recently, the Chennai police led an investigation to bust a meth lab in Andhra Pradesh. The son of a police inspector was found in possession of one kilogram of methamphetamine (MDMA), and arrested on March 7. When the police probed the issue further, they reportedly found that a person named Ramesh was supplying the drugs from Hyderabad. According to police, Ramesh would visit Chennai about every 20 days, and supply the drugs to dealers there. The police also nabbed a gang that would supply the drugs in the city.
The police also traced contacts from the sub-inpsector’s son, and one of them led to Ongole district in Andhra Pradesh. “A four-member team, who reached the location, found that it was a meth lab. The local police were not aware of it. Our police secured the lab, seized 860 grams of drugs, and arrested chemist named Venkat Reddy (28) of Hyderabad,” said Deputy Commissioner E Sundaravathana, according to reports. Venkat Reddy is a chemistry graduate, who worked with Ramesh. According to police, while Ramesh would set up the labs through fake licences, Venkat was the one who manufactured the MDMA. Meanwhile, Ramesh, who is considered the mastermind in the case, is still on the run.
Read more about the inter-city drug bust here: Tamil Nadu cops bust drug ring, shut down meth lab in Andhra Pradesh
With IANS inputs