Compiled from reports by ThePrint, Telangana Today and NewsMeter. See the original articles linked below.
Telangana's anti-narcotics unit, the EAGLE Force, has announced the break-up of an alleged inter-State network that made and supplied synthetic drugs, with investigators pointing to a suspected production site at a poultry farm in Maharashtra. ThePrint, carrying a report from the Press Trust of India, and Telangana Today both published the details on 19 October 2026.
The Maharashtra site
According to ThePrint, investigators identified the suspected facility on 17 October at a poultry farm in Maregaon village, Gondia district. The agency's report said chemical-processing apparatus and chemical remnants were found there, and that Maharashtra Police registered a separate case. Telangana Today described the location as a suspected clandestine drug manufacturing unit and said it forms part of the wider inter-State trafficking investigation.
How the case began
Both outlets trace the case to 8 August, when police at Bibi Nagar in Telangana stopped a vehicle that was heading toward Nagpur. ThePrint reported that officers seized 27.2 kg of mephedrone and 56.98 kg of acetone and arrested three people. Telangana Today identified the vehicle as a Toyota Fortuner and said the three were sent to judicial custody. Because the matter extended beyond one State, the case was later handed to the EAGLE Force, ThePrint reported.
Arrests and the accused
ThePrint reported that eleven people are now arrested or in custody, among them a suspected supplier of propionyl chloride, a precursor chemical, while thirteen accused are absconding. NewsMeter, which also covered the case, added that the absconding accused have reported links to Telangana, Maharashtra, Assam and Rajasthan.
Telangana Today named the alleged supplier as Jairaj Krishna Shetty, owner of JSV Globals in Vasai, and said the EAGLE Force arrested him on Saturday. It also reported the arrest of Saddam Hussain, described as a native of Assam living in Nalgonda district. NewsMeter likewise said Shetty was apprehended on 17 October and is suspected of supplying propionyl chloride.
Links to laboratories
Telangana Today reported that investigators have allegedly linked the case to Vetukuri Labs in Kondamadugu, SM Labs in Moula Ali in Hyderabad, and the Maharashtra unit. The outlet said officers are examining how precursor chemicals, including propionyl chloride, were obtained and moved between locations. It also named Penumatsa Rakesh Varma as the owner of Vetukuri Labs, saying he features in the wider investigation and was arrested by the Narcotics Control Bureau in Indore in July in a separate case.
NewsMeter reported that the inquiry covers the alleged manufacture of mephedrone, alprazolam and ephedrine.
Scope of the investigation
ThePrint said the probe has allegedly uncovered connections between chemical suppliers, laboratory operators, people who arranged equipment, and distributors operating across several places. The investigation is continuing, it reported, with attention on the remaining accused and on the chemical, equipment, transport and financial supply chains behind the network.
The allegations come from the EAGLE Force and the reporting outlets; the outlets did not report any court findings against those named.
Sources
- Telangana’s EAGLE Force busts inter-state synthetic drug network, finds suspected lab in Maharashtra (ThePrint, 2026-10-19)
- EAGLE Force busts suspected drug unit at Maharashtra poultry farm (Telangana Today, 2026-10-19)
- Telangana EAGLE Force busts synthetic drug lab operating from a Maharashtra poultry farm (NewsMeter, 2026-10-19)
This article was compiled with AI assistance from the reports listed above and reviewed by GMA before publishing.