PRAYAGRAJ, Sept. 4 -- Police dismantled an illegal methamphetamine (MD) manufacturing unit operating from a tin shed on rented agricultural land in Kosda Kala village in Prayagraj's Manda area and seized 52.932 kg of MD, officials said on Thursday. The action was part of a major interstate drug network bust in which 21 people were arrested. The Prayagraj operation followed the arrest of Rajneesh Mishra and Shivdhan Mishra, who allegedly facilitated the manufacture of MD at the unit. Technical analysis and further investigation by Crime Detection Branch, Unit-4, of the Mira-Bhayandar, Vasai-Virar (MBVV) police commissionerate led investigators to the facility, according to a communique issued by UP STF on Thursday. The raid led to the recovery of 52.932 kg of MD, along with chemicals and laboratory equipment used in its manufacture. The seized chemicals included monomethylamine (MMA), acetone, hydrochloric acid and chloroform, with around 260 litres of chemicals recovered. Police also seized 250-litre and 150-litre flasks, heating mantles, dropping funnels and thermometers. The latest seizure took the total recovery in the case to 69.759 kg of MD, estimated to be worth around Rs.139 crore, besides cash, chemicals and laboratory equipment, STF officials said. The investigation began after the arrest of Avinash alias Sonu Loknath Iyer, 22, and Ravikant Omprakash Ram, 23, with 112 grams of MD in Pragati Nagar, Nalasopara East, on June 24. The duo were intercepted around 8.40 pm and the contraband was valued at Rs.3.36 lakh. A case was registered at Tulinj police station under relevant provisions of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act. Further investigation uncovered a 21-member interstate network with links to Nalasopara, Mumbai, Kalyan, Nerul, Jalgaon, Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh. Investigators found separate roles for procuring chemicals and laboratory equipment, manufacturing, transporting and selling MD, peddling the drug and handling financial transactions. Police initially traced an illegal MD manufacturing unit allegedly operated by Jumma Talab Thakar on agricultural land in Abdasa, Kutch, Gujarat. Another accused, Irfan Syed, allegedly concealed chemicals and laboratory equipment in Nerul and later tried to remove them after learning about the police action. Zahid Sheikh alias Javed Bhai allegedly attempted to dispose of material near the Virar-JNPT Expressway in Kalyan, but police recovered it. A major breakthrough came with the arrest of Haseeb Siddiqui alias Ijaz Merchant from Kurla, Mumbai, from whom 11.804 kg of MD and Rs.18.70 lakh cash were recovered. Investigators subsequently traced the sale of MD in Jalgaon, allegedly with the assistance of Moinuddin Shabbir Sheikh alias Moin. Two other accused, Rahim Taher Pinjari and Syed Mushahid Ali, were arrested from Jalgaon with 4.911 kg of MD. According to the UP STF, all 21 accused involved in the manufacturing, procurement, transportation, sale and financial handling of the drug have been arrested from different locations. Police are now probing whether the organised network had international links. Further investigation is underway....