According to an official release, Rao enquired with department officials about the incident and questioned how such an operation could exist undetected. “What was the Telangana Excise Department doing?” he asked, expressing serious concern over the failure to detect the drug activity locally
Telangana Excise Minister Jupally Krishna Rao
Telangana Excise Minister Jupally Krishna Rao on Monday directed officials to submit a comprehensive report within 24 hours following the Maharashtra Police's bust of an illegal mephedrone manufacturing unit at Cherlapally in Hyderabad.
According to an official release, Rao enquired with department officials about the incident and questioned how such an operation could exist undetected. “What was the Telangana Excise Department doing?” he asked, expressing serious concern over the failure to detect the drug activity locally, reported news agency PTI.
He instructed officials to visit the site immediately, submit a detailed report, and prepare a comprehensive action plan to prevent the recurrence of such incidents. He also called for enhanced surveillance on the consumption, transport, and supply chains involving narcotics, including monitoring links between peddlers and consumers.
Following his directive, excise officials visited the unit on Monday and are expected to submit their report on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, the Telangana Drugs Control Administration clarified that the unit in question is a chemical factory, not a licensed pharmaceutical company, and does not hold any drug manufacturing license. The department stated that the matter falls under the purview of enforcement agencies such as the police, Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI), and other state and central bodies empowered under the NDPS Act, 1985, according to the news agency PTI.
The incident also triggered a political row. BRS Working President K.T. Rama Rao (KTR) slammed the Congress-led state government, questioning the effectiveness of its much-hyped drug enforcement mechanisms, including EAGLE (Elite Action Group for Drug Law Enforcement).
KTR asked how such an illegal operation could function undetected despite tall claims about curbing drug trafficking. “What are the intelligence agencies, EAGLE, and the police doing when such criminal activities are being carried out right under their nose?” he asked.
The Mira Bhayander Vasai Virar (MBVV) Police in Maharashtra had busted the unit on Saturday after a month-long investigation, seizing mephedrone and raw materials worth several crores of rupees, and arresting 12 individuals, including a Bangladeshi woman, according to a senior official in Thane.
The MBVV police said further investigations are ongoing to trace the entire supply chain connected to the illegal drug unit.
(With PTI inputs)
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