Inside an illegally built shed operated a drug factory with AC rooms, cellars & hi-tech equipment

Mysore/Mysuru: At first glance, it looked like a nondescript car shed — its walls of corrugated metal sheets standing quietly beside Outer Ring Road service lane.

Two cars parked inside reinforced the illusion of a modest garage. But behind this ordinary façade lay a sprawling narcotics hub, meticulously concealed and shockingly sophisticated.

On July 26, in a coordinated strike, Maharashtra Police — backed by Mysuru Police — raided this very shed inside a vehicle garage along the Ring Road service lane at Belavatha and unearthed Mephedrone (commonly known as MD) drugs valued at an astounding Rs. 390 crore.

Four individuals were arrested, including one from Mysuru, in what officials describe as one of the region’s most significant drug busts.

While Maharashtra’s team wrapped up their operation and whisked the suspects away, officers from Mysuru’s Narasimharaja Police Station stayed behind, determined to probe deeper.

Two days later, on July 28, Narasimharaja Inspector Lakshmikanth K. Talawar secured permission from the ACP of the N.R. Sub-division and summoned a Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) team to meticulously examine the site.

The keys to the garage and shed were summoned from the relatives of Ajmal, the owner of the shed. What they uncovered stunned even seasoned investigators.

Fully air-conditioned rooms

The nondescript shed concealed three fully air-conditioned rooms, each fitted with exhaust fans and purpose-built for high-end drug manufacturing.

The first room appeared routine — a simple workspace where two cars awaited repair. But a door on the northern side of the shed led to something far more sinister.

Beyond that door lay another — hidden in the northeast corner — opening into a compact 10×12 ft chamber. Inside, forensic experts found chemical-laden tables arranged with clinical precision. Tests confirmed that the substances were narcotics in the process of being refined.

Adjacent to this room was yet another chamber, equally sophisticated. Here, an exhaust system and iron stairs hinted at deeper secrets. Investigators discovered a cellar-like compartment within the air-conditioned room.

Radiating heat onto paper

Suspended above were high-powered bulbs radiating heat onto paper sheets spread with narcotic substances — likely in the drying phase after being extracted in liquid form. Every trace of material was catalogued and seized by the FSL team. The findings left little doubt: This was no minor stash site, but a full-scale production unit operating under the guise of an ordinary garage.

Following the inspection, Inspector Lakshmikanth Talawar filed an FIR at Narasimharaja Police Station against Ajmal and other accomplices involved in the large-scale mephedrone racket.

Illegal structures

Meanwhile, the residents close to the shed also told Star of Mysore that all the structures in that area were illegal and even pointed out four sheds they claimed were built on Raja Kaluves meant to drain rainwater.

They said it was an open secret that the structures were illegal and were being rented out. It is yet to be ascertained how these illegal sheds got electricity and water connections to run a full-blown industrial production unit.

NDPS Act

The case has been booked under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985, specifically Sections 8(C), 22(C), 25, 28 and 29.

Conviction under these sections carries a minimum sentence of 10 years’ imprisonment, extendable up to 20 years, along with heavy fines. The probe now extends beyond Mysuru, with authorities working to uncover the wider network behind this Rs. 390-crore drug racket.