Lucknow: Joint teams of the Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force (STF) and the Pune Police recovered 150 kilograms of MDMA drugs, valued at Rs 300 crore, from the possession of two men in Barabanki district on Tuesday. The men were attempting to escape across the border into Nepal via Bahraich district.
The arrested individuals were identified as Abhishek Bilas Balakwade and Bhushan Anil Patil. Both natives of Pune. They were arrested from the Bahraich turn under the jurisdiction of the Barabanki city police station.
The STF said that Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), commonly known as ecstasy in tablet form or as molly or mandy in crystal form, is a potent empathogen–entactogen with stimulant and minor psychedelic properties, primarily used for recreational purposes.
The STF also disclosed that the duo had conspired to facilitate the successful escape of Maharashtra’s biggest drug kingpin, Lalit Patil, from police custody on October 2nd.
During interrogation, the arrested individuals revealed that Bhushan Anil Patil is the younger brother of the drug kingpin Lalit Patil, while Abhishek Bilas is the chief manager of Lalit Patil’s drug network. They disclosed that they, along with Lalit Patil, had been manufacturing banned MD drugs since 2014, which were used in pubs, bars, and rave parties.
“To produce this illicit drug, they had established a factory in Aurangabad, Pune, and Nashik. Following Lalit Patil’s arrest in 2020, Bhushan Anil Patil and Abhishek Bilas Balakwade assumed control of the entire operation,” said ASP, STF, Vishal Vikram Singh.
The raw materials for producing MD drugs were supplied by Shivji Shinde of Nashik district. They sold one kilogram of MD drugs to Lalit’s regular buyers at a price of Rs 1.5 crore per kilogram and converted their earnings into gold through a goldsmith named Abhijeet in Mumbai. Over the last 10 months, they had acquired approximately eight kilograms of gold, which they had hidden at various locations in Maharashtra, said the duo during sustained interrogation with STF.
