Akola: Police in Maharashtra ’s Akola district have seized Rs 2.38 crore worth of ephedrine and raw materials to make the drug from a disused factory and arrested five persons in connection with it, an official said on Thursday.
Ephedrine is a central nervous stimulant and is often misused as a recreational drug.
Acting on inputs, the crime branch recently raided an unused ginning factory, where cotton fibres are separated from cotton seeds, on Mahagaon Road and confiscated 5.5 kg of ephedrine and raw materials worth Rs 2.38 crore.
Five persons have been arrested for their alleged involvement in the drug business, an official said.
Police said the factory had started producing the drug after October 15 and was still to ship out its first consignment. One of the accused, Adil Mohammad Shameem Ansari (36) was named in some police cases in Mumbai and Hyderabad.
Superintendent of Police Bachchan Singh said they are trying to ascertain where the drug was intended to be delivered.
