India, Sept. 8 -- In a cross-state operation, the Crime Branch (Unit 3) of the Mira Bhayander-Vasai Virar (MBVV) police on Sunday hauled the alleged kingpin of a sprawling synthetic drug empire from Hyderabad to Mumbai, along with a haul of chemicals and raw materials worth 12,000 crores. The breakthrough came after a raid last Saturday that exposed a clandestine Mephedrone (MD) manufacturing factory in Hyderabad's Cherlapally area.

The accused, Srinivas Vijay Murthy Voleti, 34, - a computer science graduate and owner of the illicit operation - was caught red-handed with his accomplice Tanaji Pandharinath Patwari, during the raid. Police say the duo churned out copious quantities of MD, supplying it to a sprawling network of local peddle...