Drugs Worth Rs 1 Crore Seized From Chennai Plastic Products Factory

The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) has seized 50 kg of pseudoephedrine, valued at approximately Rs 1 crore in the illicit market, from a plastic products manufacturing unit in Chennai. Three persons, including a father-son duo, have been arrested in connection with the seizure.

The precursor chemical found  concealed in two gunny bags, each containing approximately 25 kg were seized in an operation carried out yesterday at M/s AN Enterprises, a factory manufacturing plastic bottles and boxes in MKB Nagar's Annai Indra Nagar. 

According to the NCB, preliminary investigations indicate that the consignment was sourced from Hyderabad and was intended to be exported for illicit use in methamphetamine manufacturing. The agency is now investigating the intended overseas destination and the larger network involved in the trafficking.

Pseudoephedrine is a precursor chemical that can be diverted for the manufacture of methamphetamine, a highly addictive synthetic drug. The 50 kg seized in this operation could potentially have been used to manufacture an equivalent quantity of methamphetamine, the NCB said.

The Chennai Zonal Unit has also flagged an increasing trend of international trafficking networks operating from Chennai. Precursor chemicals such as pseudoephedrine and ephedrine are allegedly being smuggled to countries including Australia and New Zealand.

However, the NCB has not yet established the specific overseas destination of the consignment seized in this operation.

All three arrested persons are residents of Chennai. Further investigation is underway to establish their individual roles, trace the source of the chemical and identify the intended recipients, as well as unravel the larger domestic and international network involved in the illicit diversion and trafficking of precursor chemicals.