Barmer, July 24 -- The Barmer police, in coordination with the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), busted a fully equipped synthetic drug manufacturing unit in Sedwa, Barmer district, on Tuesday before it was scheduled to begin the production, police said on Wednesday, adding that the factory, concealed in the remote Dholakiya (Kartiya) area near the India-Pakistan border, had the capacity to produce MD (mephedrone) drugs worth nearly Rs.100 crore. On Tuesday, the police unearthed a large-scale MD drug manufacturing unit, close to the Indo-Pakistan border. Police said that while two people were detained, a third suspect managed to escape. Besides eight others have been named in the FIR. "This factory was fully equipped and just a day away from starting large-scale MD drug production. We recovered precursor chemicals and machinery capable of manufacturing synthetic drugs worth nearly Rs.100 crore. This operation has likely prevented a massive supply from hitting the streets," said Barmer superintendent of police Narendra Meena during a press conference. He further said that the raw material seized was valued around Rs.4 crore. "Police also recovered electric weighing scales, chemical guides, and manufacturing manuals." The raid, launched under "Operation Bhokal", exposed a sophisticated setup hidden behind a rural dwelling in a thatched shed. The team seized 39.25 kg of liquid chemical, over 290 kg of various precursors (including chloroform, ammonia, bromine, and toluene), 5.33 kg of white powder, and a range of drug-manufacturing machinery and equipment. "Had the operation not been stopped in time on Tuesday, an enormous volume of synthetic drugs could have flooded markets - not just in Rajasthan but across several states. The seizure comes as Rajasthan's western districts, particularly Barmer, are emerging as a new manufacturing hub for synthetic drugs, rather than just a transit point," Meena said. This is the second MD factory busted in Barmer in less than a year. In September 2024, the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) had raided a similar facility in Ramsar, 40 km from the international border. In May 2024, the NCB and Jodhpur Rural Police seized Rs.300 crore worth of synthetic drugs and busted five labs in Sirohi, Jalore, and Jodhpur. According to police, these successive busts point to a deep-rooted and well-coordinated drug syndicate exploiting the vast and sparsely monitored desert terrain. Initially used for smuggling, these remote zones-especially around Dhorimanna, Chohatan, Gudamalani, and Sedwa - are now being used to set up production units to cater to growing local demand. "The trend is shifting from trafficking to manufacturing," a senior official said. "If this unit had started operations even for a week, we could have seen dangerous volumes of MD in urban and rural markets, leading to an even more severe addiction crisis."...