Indore, Jul 6 (PTI) A 40-year-old woman and three others were arrested in connection with the inter-state smuggling of the drug MDMA, popularly known as ecstasy, worth Rs 71 crore, a senior official of Madhya Pradesh police said on Tuesday.

According to the police, at least 33 accused have been arrested since January in the case related to the smuggling of 70.7 kg of MDMA.

The four arrested accused, Mehjabeen Shaikh (40), Salim Choudhary (42), Zubair Halai (42) and Anwar Lala (38), all residents of Mumbai, had been absconding so far, deputy inspector general of police (DIG) Manish Kapuria said.

"We have come to know that the woman and her accomplices have links with criminals supplying drugs to the rich and high-profile people of Mumbai. We are verifying these facts," he said.

The series of arrests began when the Madhya Pradesh police arrested five smugglers, including a medical factory owner from Hyderabad, in Indore on January 5 and seized around 70 kg of MDMA.

According to officials, investigations had revealed that the MDMA, manufactured in the Hyderabad factory, was first sent to Indore, before being transported to different parts of the country.

The police have seized five cars and 40 mobile phones and cash worth over Rs 13 lakh from the accused arrested in the case so far.

The arrested accused have confessed to supplying MDMA, known as "ecstasy" and meow-meow”, at pubs, gyms, discos, dance bars and parties.

(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)