Mysore/Mysuru: A team of scientists from the National Forensic Science University (NFSU), Gandhinagar, Gujarat, visited the ‘TukTuk Household Chemicals Production Solution Manufacturing Factory’ in the Hebbal Industrial Area of Mysuru on Saturday.

According to sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity, the forensic experts have ruled out the unit being a phenyl manufacturing facility. Sources said the setup inside the unit was unsuitable for producing either chemical cleaners or phenyl.

The NFSU team reportedly found traces of mephedrone (MD) in the now-defunct unit. The factory has since been sealed.

The visit by NFSU scientists followed recent Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) raids on the factory and the arrest of Ganpath Lal, a resident of Alanahalli, who was operating the unit. He has been arrested under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985.

On Jan. 28, NCB sleuths arrested interstate drug peddler Mahindra Kumar Vishnoi in Surat and intercepted his Karnataka-registered car at Palsana in Surat district of Gujarat. A search of the vehicle led to the seizure of about 35 kg of MD.

The banned amphetamine, also known as ‘meow meow’ or ‘M-CAT’, is a stimulant drug used recreationally for its effects, which are similar to those of MDMA and cocaine.

Ganpath Lal is said to be a close relative of Mahindra Kumar Vishnoi. While tracing the drug manufacturing network, NCB officials later uncovered a fully equipped laboratory with sophisticated instruments at the Hebbal unit.