New Delhi:, June 8 -- Concerned over India emerging as a major hub for clandestine laboratories manufacturing synthetic drugs such as amphetamine, methamphetamine and ecstasy pills, the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) has asked police chiefs of all states and Union territories to alert their beat officers about the red flags to identify such laboratories in their respective areas. The nodal drug law enforcement and intelligence agency has also asked the states and UTs to educate the public about such red flags of suspicious laboratories in their localities. "The emergence of synthetic drugs such as mephedrone, methamphetamine, MDMA, etc pose a growing threat to public health and national security. Unlike traditional narcotic crops, synthetic drugs which are more addictive and harmful to health can be produced entirely from chemical precursors, often in concealed laboratories that mimic legitimate industrial or residential setups," NCB director general Anurag Garg said in a communique to the director generals of police of states and UTs last week. Law enforcement experience in India, Garg said, reveals that these illegal manufacturing units mostly operate discreetly in leased premises and use precursor chemicals, many of which are used in legitimate industry. "Often, there is organised syndicate which runs such establishments and members are past narco-offenders," he added....