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Over 500 kg of the party drug Meow-Meow - worth around Rs 50 crore in international market - was seized in two different raids in Maharashtra. And in one case, the alleged peddler was a Mumbai police constable.
That particular haul - of 112 kg of the drug - was made from a house in Datara district's Kanher village.
Constable Dharamraj Kalokhe, attached with Mumbai's Marine Drive Police station, had gone home with the drugs after a deal he was trying to make in Goa fell through. The buyer was one "Madam Patel", said sources. Mr Kalokhe has been arrested.
In an attempt to hoodwink his colleagues, Mr Kalokhe had allegedly taken a fortnight's leave, claiming his father had died and that he needed to go home for the last rites.
In the second incident, the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence detained three people who were closely linked to a well-known travel agency, Konduskar Travels.
Sources said the DRI intercepted a vehicle on the Mumbai-Pune highway and found 50 kg of Meow-Meow in it. The raid led to a bigger catch: 355 kg of the drug which was allegedly manufactured at another company owned by the brothers.
Meow Meow, or Mephedrone, is a cheap and accessible drug manufactured from plant fertilizers. The drug, which is said to raise alertness, openness and euphoria, was banned across India in February.