Liquor contractor held with drugs worth crores:Took sanitizer manufacturing license in Ratlam; Indore NCB raided factory and seized ₹3.44 crore narcotics

The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) Indore Zonal Unit raided a factory in Sejawata village of Ratlam on Saturday night and seized 13.762 kg of Alprazolam, worth ₹3.44 crore. Two people, Abhijeet Singh Chauhan and Roop Singh Chauhan, were arrested. Abhijeet is also a liquor contractor. The NCB conducted the raid without informing Ratlam Police. Officers learned about it on Sunday morning, after which ASP Rakesh Khakha, CSP Satyendra Ghanghoria, and IA Police Station In-charge Gayatri Soni reached the spot. An NCB official said the factory had a license to make sanitizer, but a banned drug was being produced. The owners had applied for a medicine license but started production before approval. Team presented in court and took to Indore on remand
On Sunday afternoon, the NCB team brought both accused to court. From there, they were taken to the district hospital for medical examination and then presented in court again. After obtaining remand, the team departed with both of them for Indore at 6 PM. During the medical examination, the accused kept hiding their faces. Meanwhile, Ratlam police officials refrained from commenting on the action. In the evening, NCB issued a press note confirming the action. Both accused are pass-outs from an Indore college
The two accused arrested by NCB are named — Illegal manufacturing was ongoing since January 2025
NCB Indore Zonal Director Ritesh Ranjan stated that preliminary investigation revealed that both accused, using their pharmaceutical background and available resources, illegally manufactured the psychotropic substance Alprazolam, which is prohibited under the NDPS Act. Since January 2025, both accused were carrying out this work in a rented warehouse between Sejavata and Ipca factory. NCB is now investigating their financial transactions and potential interstate network. Chemicals and equipment seized from the factory
In addition to narcotics, the NCB team has also seized chemical materials and manufacturing equipment from the factory. These include round bottom flasks, oil baths, condensers, stirrers, thermometers, along with ethyl acetate (7.5 liters), isopropyl alcohol (2.5 liters), toluene (2.5 liters), methanol (40 liters), chloroform (7.5 liters), glacial acetic acid (500 ml), hydrochloric acid (500 ml), magnesium sulfate, sodium bicarbonate, and sodium chloride. The board of Cement Block Industries was placed in front.
At the place where this factory was being operated, there was no board of any kind for the factory’s operation. Work was being done here completely secretly. In the same premises, behind this factory, there is an industry for making cement blocks. Some employees were found here. But they denied having any information regarding the drug factory. In front of this factory, two boards of Reliable Industries were put up, under the guise of which this work was being done.