New Delhi, April 27

The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) and Gujarat Police ATS on Saturday busted three "clandestine" drug manufacturing labs in Rajasthan and Gujarat leading to the seizure of 300 kg narcotics and arrest of seven persons.

NCB Deputy Director General (Operations) Gyaneshwar Singh in a statement said that the labs were unearthed after about three months of "intensive" technical and ground surveillance that was mounted by the two agencies to identify the people involved in the network as well as the locations of the labs.

A total of 149 kg mephedrone or 'meow meow' (both in powder and liquid form), 50 kg ephedrine and 200 l acetone was recovered from the three labs located in Bhinmal of Jalore district and Osian in Jodhpur district of Rajasthan and Gandhinagar in Gujarat, the officer said.

Seven persons have been arrested till now in the crackdown, he said.

The teams of the two agencies were also raiding a similar lab in the Amreli district of Gujarat and more recoveries are expected, Singh said.

"The kingpin of this network has been identified and will be arrested soon. Efforts are being made to track and identify the source of precursor chemicals as well as the distribution network, national as well as any international linkages," he said.

Mephedrone, also known as 4-methylmethcathinone, 4-MMC and 4-methylephedrone, is a synthetic stimulant and is also identified by its slang names --drone, M-CAT, white magic, meow meow and bubble.