Patiala:
Punjab Police on Friday seized 9 kg of 'Mescaline' drug, from a resident of Patran in the district, police said in Patiala.
One Jatinderpal Singh of Patran has been arrested in connection with the haul under various sections of the NDPS Act, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) H S Mann told reporters.
Singh claimed that he had got the drug from close associates of the kingpin, who is dealing with this new kind of drug and is lodged in a Rajasthan jail and operating from there, the SSP said.
Mescaline is derived from opium that cost between Rs 1,200 and Rs 1,600 per gm and is said to be priced at about Rs 2,000 per gm, the SSP said adding that with the traditional supply chain choked, recovery of Mescaline shows that alternative drugs are making their way into the region.
Mescaline is a naturally occurring psychedelic alkaloid of the phenethylamine class, known for its mind-altering effects similar to those of LSD and psilocybin, Mann said.
The SSP said that the first consignment of 10.5 kg was recovered on Sunday from the possession of a woman Simranjit Kaur, who was arrested.
Police are now trying to trace the whereabouts of two other accomplices of the woman, who managed to give the police a slip.