MUMBAI, Sept. 9 -- The glitter of a corporate career gave way to the shadows of crime for 34-year-old Srinivas Vijay Murthy Voleti, a computer science graduate who abandoned a promising IT job to chase the illusion of easy wealth in the world of synthetic drugs. His ill-fated ambition spun a vast web of Mephedrone (MD) distribution across the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), until it was unravelled last Saturday in a police sting operation. The Mira Bhayandar-Vasai-Virar (MBVV) crime branch orchestrated a trap - a dummy order for 1.5 kilograms of Mephedrone, a stimulant often compared to cocaine and ecstasy. The sting led investigators straight to Voleti's chemical factory in Cherlapally, Hyderabad, where they uncovered a massive cache of 32,000 liters of raw chemicals, sufficient to produce MD with a market value exceeding Rs.12,000 crore. Voleti's story is one of ambition gone awry. Once a well-paid IT professional employed at a multinational firm in Hyderabad, his trajectory changed when he was seduced by the promise of fast wealth in 2020 by one of his friends who persuaded him to venture into chemical manufacturing. Operating under the guise of legitimate businesses - Vagdevi Lab, manufacturing COVID-related molecules, and Vagdevi Innoscience, a research unit - the real business was the production of MD. In 2022, after his business partner disappeared, Voleti found himself struggling to sustain operations. Then came Firoz Aslam Khan, a mysterious figure introduced by an acquaintance. Firoz connected Voleti to the MMR drug peddlers, acting as the middleman between Voleti and a network of local drug peddlers, led by the now-arrested Mustafa Khan. The investigation took a decisive turn on August 8, 2025, when MBVV police intercepted 105 grams of MD in the possession of a 23-year-old woman, Fatima Murad Shaikh alias Molla, near the Axis Bank ATM at Kashimira bus stop in Mira Road East. Under intense interrogation, Molla revealed the narcotics were sourced from Telangana, prompting investigators to zero in on Hyderabad. According to assistant commissioner of police Madan Ballal, the operation was meticulously compartmentalised. "Voleti only met Firoz, who collected orders from Mustafa Khan and then placed them with Voleti," Ballal explained. Firoz would travel by bus from Borivali to Cherlapally, hand over payment, collect 5 kg of MD at Rs.7 lakh per kg, and return to sell it for Rs.8 lakh per kg in Mumbai - all the while maintaining extreme secrecy. Voleti employed six workers at his factory, none of whom were aware of the illicit operation running under their noses. His trusted aide, Tanaji, a helper who earned Rs.8,000 elsewhere, saw his salary leap to Rs.35,000 under Voleti, further entangling him in the web of deception. The pivotal breakthrough came after the arrests of Mustafa and Firoz. The police instructed Firoz to place a dummy order for 1.5kg of MD, accompanied by officers in plain clothes. Firoz delivered the payment to Voleti, who, after a deliberate hour-long wait, handed over the package. The moment he did, officers swooped in and arrested Voleti on the spot on September 6. Subsequently, the police seized 5.7 kg of finished Mephedrone, 35,500 litres of chemicals stored in barrels, 950 kilograms of drug powder, manufacturing equipment, three four-wheelers, one two-wheeler, 27 mobile phones, and over Rs.2.23 crore in cash. "This quantity is sufficient to flood the national and international markets with MD," said inspector Pramod Badhak, leading the team transporting the contraband to Mumbai. The estimated street value of the materials is a staggering Rs.12,000 crore. So far, the police have arrested a total of 12 individuals, including a Bangladeshi national, all of whom are being produced in court after being shifted to Maharashtra under transit warrants. Voleti is now in police custody until September 15. According to police, Voleti is married, a father of two, whose fall from middle-class aspiration to drug kingpin highlights his greed for illicit wealth. "This is just the tip of the iceberg," said Ballal. "We will ensure that every part of this syndicate, from the source to street-level peddlers, is dismantled."...