Thane, Feb 16 (PTI) The police in Maharashtra's Thane district have arrested eight persons involved in a drug manufacturing and trafficking racket and seized mephedrone worth Rs 55.7 lakh, an official said on Friday.

The racket came to light following the arrest of Thane residents Jayesh Pradeep Kambli (25) and Vignesh Vinayak Shirke (28), who were found in possession of 78.8 gm of mephedrone, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime) Shivraj Patil said.

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A probe led the police to drug suppliers Ahmed Mohammad Shafi Sheikh alias Akbar Khau (41) and Shabbir Abdul Karim Sheikh (44), who were apprehended from Chincoti in Vasai on January 5, he said.

The other accused Mohammad Rasi Hanif Ansari (47) and Mohammad Amir Amantullah Khan (44), both from Kurla, were subsequently arrested later in the month, the official said.

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Khan's arrest led the police to Manoj Patil alias Bala, who was an accused in a drugs case in Gujarat and had jumped parole in March 2023, he said.

Bala changed his location frequently, but the police team worked on several inputs and finally nabbed him from Khalapur in the neighbouring Raigad district on February 6, and his associate Dinesh Devji Mhatre (38) was caught in Pen on February 10.

The police have seized mephedrone worth Rs 55.73 lakh and raw materials and chemicals worth Rs 59,000 used in manufacturing the drug, the official said.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)