India, June 3 -- An interstate mephedrone (MD) manufacturing and trafficking network spanning Maharashtra, Gujarat, Telangana and Tamil Nadu has been busted. The police have arrested 18 persons and seized narcotics, precursor chemicals and equipment worth over Rs.50 crore.

The breakthrough came after the arrest of a couple from Naya Nagar in Mira Road for allegedly peddling drugs. Their interrogation led investigators to a larger network involved in the production and distribution of MD across multiple states.

Sandeep Doifode, deputy commissioner of police (crime branch, MBVV), said the arrests of peddlers from Byculla and Mira Road helped police trace a manufacturing and storage facility in Malwani. There, officers arrested a local res...