MUMBAI, Sept. 3 -- An investigation into the seizure of just 112 grams of mephedrone (MD) from two men in Nalasopara has led the Mira Bhayandar-Vasai Virar (MBVV) crime branch to an illegal drug manufacturing unit in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh. Unit 4 of the crime branch raided the unit and seized 52.932 kg of MD, taking the total drug seized in the case to 69.759 kg, valued at around Rs.100 crore in the illicit market. The investigation, which began in June, has resulted in the arrest of 21 people across Maharashtra, Gujarat, and Uttar Pradesh. The probe began on June 24, when police arrested Avinash alias Sonu Loknath Iyer, 22, and Ravikant Omprakash Ram, 23, both residents of Pragati Nagar in Nalasopara East, for allegedly possessing 112 grams of MD worth around Rs.3.36 lakh. Their interrogation helped police trace 19 more people from Mumbai and its suburbs, as well as parts of Uttar Pradesh, who were allegedly involved in the manufacture and distribution of the drug. Technical analysis and interrogation of the accused eventually led investigators to Rajnish Mishra and Shivdhan Mishra, who allegedly supplied the drug. Police found that the MD was being manufactured in a tin shed on leased farmland at Kosada Kala, Manda, Meja tehsil, in Prayagraj district. Consequently, the Unit 4 team raided the premises on August 25 and seized 52.932 kg of MD, 260 litres of chemicals used to manufacture the drug, including monomethylamine (MMA), acetone, hydrochloric acid and chloroform, and laboratory equipment. The total seizure in the case now stands at 69.759 kg of MD, worth around Rs.100 crore in the illicit market. "We have destroyed an entire ring of drug manufacturing and supplying," said Pramod Badak, senior police inspector of crime branch Unit 4....