Date: 2026-01-25Category: Press ReleaseState: Union GovernmentCountry: India
DRI busts mobile mephedrone lab in Sahyadri Ranges under “Operation Sahyadri Checkmate”; seizes nearly 22 kg mephedrone in different forms; five arrested
**Executive Summary**
The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) launched "Operation Sahyadri Checkmate" and dismantled a clandestine mobile mephedrone manufacturing laboratory in the Sahyadri ranges. The operation, initiated on 24.01.2026, resulted in the seizure of approximately 22 kg of mephedrone in various forms and the arrest of five individuals. The seized drugs have an estimated illicit market value of ₹55 crore.
**Key Points / Main Content**
* **Operation Details:**
* "Operation Sahyadri Checkmate" was launched by the DRI based on developed intelligence.
* The targeted laboratory was a mobile mephedrone manufacturing facility.
* The laboratory was designed to evade detection by frequently shifting locations and was camouflaged as a poultry farm.
* The operation occurred in the remote Sahyadri ranges.
* **Seizure Details:**
* Approximately 21.912 kg of mephedrone was seized in different forms: 11.848 kg in liquid form, 9.326 kg in semi-liquid form, and 738 grams in crystalline form.
* Additionally, 71.5 kg of raw material, capable of producing approximately 15 kg of finished NDPS substance, was seized.
* The estimated illicit market value of the seized NDPS substance is ₹55 crore.
* **Arrests:**
* Five individuals were arrested, including the 'cook,' the financier-consigner, and the poultry farm owner.
* Four of the five arrested are repeat offenders, previously arrested under the NDPS Act or prosecuted under serious legislations such as MCOCA, 1999.
**Impact Analysis**
**DRI**
* **Impact:** The successful operation underscores DRI's critical role in safeguarding national security.
* **Action Required:** Continue efforts to disrupt organized drug trafficking networks.
**Public Health, Law and Order, and Economic Stability**
* **Impact:** Disruption of organized drug trafficking networks reduces threats to public health, law and order, and economic stability.
* **Action Required:** Continued vigilance and enforcement to prevent the resurgence of drug trafficking activities.
Key Entities Referenced
Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI): The agency that launched and carried out the operation against the mephedrone lab.
Operation Sahyadri Checkmate: The codename for the DRI operation targeting the mephedrone manufacturing lab.
Mephedrone (NDPS substance): The illegal substance being manufactured and seized.
Sahyadri Ranges: The location where the mobile mephedrone lab was found.
Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act, 1999 (MCOCA): Legislation under which some of the individuals arrested had been previously prosecuted.
Ministry of Finance
DRI busts mobile mephedrone lab in Sahyadri
Ranges under “Operation Sahyadri Checkmate”;
seizes nearly 22 kg mephedrone in different
forms; five arrested
प्रव तथ: 25 JAN 2026 7:29PM by PIB Delhi
Working on a developed intelligence, the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) launched an operation
codenamed Operation Sahyadri Checkmate and dismantled a clandestine mobile mephedrone
manufacturing laboratory in the remote hinterland of the Sahyadri ranges.
The illicit laboratory was designed to evade detection by frequently shifting locations. Surveillance led to
the identification of a camouflaged manufacturing unit operating under the guise of a poultry farm. A
coordinated operation launched by DRI on 24.01.2026 unearthed the makeshift, mobile and fully
operational clandestine laboratory equipped with apparatus capable of manufacturing Mephedrone
(NDPS substance).A total of 21.912 kg mephedrone in different forms, comprising 11.848 kg in liquid form, 9.326 kg in
semi-liquid form, and 738 grams in crystalline form was seized. In addition, 71.5 kg raw material,
capable of producing approximately 15 kg finished NDPS substance, was also seized. The illicit market
value of the seized NDPS substance is estimated to be approximately ₹55 crore.
DRI apprehended three individuals, including the ‘cook’ engaged in manufacturing; the financer-
consigner; and the owner of the poultry farm. The first batch of finished NDPS contraband had been
concealed at the residence of the poultry farm owner for safekeeping.
In a follow-up action, officers of DRI mounted late-night surveillance near an old octroi toll naka located
inside a dense forested area and apprehended two more individuals en-route to collect the final product.
It is pertinent to mention that out of the five individuals arrested, four are repeat offenders, having earlier
been arrested under the NDPS Act or prosecuted under serious legislations such as MCOCA, 1999.
The successful operation underscores the critical role of DRI in safeguarding national security by
disrupting organized drug trafficking networks that pose a serious threat to public health, law and order,
and economic stability.
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NB/KMN
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