Varanasi: A joint team of Kerakat police and the SWAT unit busted an MDMA manufacturing unit operating from a hotel on Station Road under Kerakat police limits in Jaunpur district and arrested four members of the gang on the intervening night of Tuesday and Wednesday.Police also seized 317 grams of finished MDMA, commonly known as ecstasy or Molly, worth around Rs1.5 crore from the spot.Jaunpur ASP (rural) Atish Kumar Singh said the joint police team arrested Shashank Maurya alias Samrat alias Lalu, Sunil Sonkar, Rahul Sonkar and Shivshankar Kumar, who were allegedly involved in the manufacture of MDMA in Jaunpur and its trafficking to different cities.Acting on a tip-off, the police team raided the Grand Welcome Restaurant and Hotel late on Wednesday and caught the accused while they were preparing the synthetic drug. During the raid, police recovered 317 grams of finished MDMA and 660 grams of semi-processed MDMA, besides equipment and chemical materials used in the manufacturing process.The seized items included mixers, heaters, glass jars, trays, weighing equipment, drums, laboratory reagent containers and various powder and chemical substances. Police also recovered Rs9,500 in cash and two four-wheelers. According to police, the gang had been supplying the synthetic drug to metropolitan cities and was also attempting to develop a market in nearby districts.Following the arrests and seizure, Kerakat police registered a case against the accused under relevant provisions of the NDPS Act. Further legal action is underway. Police are verifying the criminal history of the accused and have launched efforts to identify and trace other members of the syndicate.
