• Garage on Ring Road turns into party drug manufacturing hub
• 13-kg MDMA drug seized; 50-kg in the final stage of production

Mysuru: Has Mysuru, a city celebrated for its culture, peace and royal heritage, turned into a safe haven for drug mafias? Growing suspicion suggests that large consignments of narcotics are being manufactured and stockpiled here and quietly transported to other destinations.

This came to light during a joint operation by the Maharashtra Anti-Narcotics Squad and Mysuru City Police yesterday. Four persons — two from Mysuru and two from Mumbai — were arrested on charges of producing liquid MDMA (Methylenedioxymethamphetamine), commonly known as Ecstasy or Party Drug.

The identities of the accused have not been revealed yet.

Garage turned drug lab

The gang had set up a temporary distillation unit inside a vehicle garage on the Ring Road service lane at Belavatta, within Narasimharaja (NR) Police Station limits. During the raid, the Police seized a massive quantity of liquid MDMA worth crores of rupees.

By the time the operation was carried out, the gang had already manufactured 13-kg of MDMA, with another 50-kg in the final stage of production. The accused were reportedly producing crystal-like substances by boiling various chemical compositions.

According to Police sources, this is the first time such a large quantity of MDMA has been seized in Karnataka. A Maharashtra Anti-Narcotics Squad team, led by an Inspector, travelled to Mysuru to coordinate the raid.

Tip-off from Maharashtra peddler

The breakthrough came after the arrest of a veteran drug peddler in Maharashtra, who revealed details of the manufacturing unit in Mysuru during interrogation. Acting on this information, senior officers from Maharashtra contacted their counterparts in Karnataka, leading to the coordinated raid around 7 pm yesterday.

Investigations revealed that the garage served as a front, with a concealed facility at the back, housing three large containers used for chemical distillation.

Liquid form raises fresh concerns

MDMA is usually sold in tablet or powder form, fetching high prices in the illicit market. However, the substance seized in Mysuru was in liquid form — typically converted into tablets or powder before distribution. Authorities are now probing whether this conversion process is being carried out locally or elsewhere.

Officials fear that drug syndicates are using Mysuru the way terrorists use safe havens — taking advantage of the city’s quiet reputation to stockpile and process narcotics without drawing attention.

Since two of the accused are Mysuru residents, an FIR has been registered at Narasimharaja Police Station. Investigations are underway to trace their local connections and determine the role of the garage owners or the landowners in the operation.