In a major breakthrough, Chennai police dismantled a methamphetamine manufacturing and peddling cartel, arresting 10 individuals and seizing 17.815 kg of methamphetamine valued at Rs22 crore in the open market.
Among the arrested suspects is Lakshmi Narasimhan, a Class X dropout and previously convicted meth cook involved in a ketamine smuggling case. He had been preparing the illicit drug in a secret lab on a house terrace in Virudhunagar since the beginning of the year.
The police seized the high-value contraband during a raid at a godown in the Red Hills area and also confiscated assets worth Rs5 crore. Narasimhan, who had gained knowledge of synthetic drug production from his associates involved in a previous ketamine case, used raw materials smuggled from Haryana and Myanmar to prepare methamphetamine.
The first arrests in the operation were made in Madhavaram, where Venkatesan alias Rajesh and K Karthi were taken into custody. The police recovered 1.5 kg of methamphetamine, along with two cars and a two-wheeler. As the investigation progressed, further raids at a godown in Vadagarai led to the seizure of an additional 15.9 kg of methamphetamine. Venkatesan, who had previously been convicted for synthetic drug smuggling, provided crucial information to the authorities.
Through further leads, the police arrested additional suspects including Prabhu, Shanmugam, Sahul Hameed, Lawrence, and Sarathkumar, and seized smaller quantities of methamphetamine and immovable assets worth Rs5 crore.
The investigation revealed that Narasimhan, along with his associate Murugan, had set up a methamphetamine lab in Virudhunagar, where the drug was being produced. In total, the police arrested 10 people, seized 17.815 kg of methamphetamine, and confiscated assets worth ₹22 crore, bringing an end to one of the largest synthetic drug networks in Chennai.
