Joint teams of Rajasthan’s Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) and Anti-Narcotics Task Force (ANTF) have arrested the alleged kingpin of an MD synthetic drug racket after an eight-year-long search. The arrest was confirmed on Friday by ATS and ANTF Inspector General Vikas Kumar. The accused, Ramesh, who also used the aliases Ramlal and Anil, is listed among the state’s top 10 most-wanted criminals and carried a reward of Rs 1 lakh. According to IG Kumar, he had built an extensive criminal network operating across at least five states—Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Rajasthan, and Telangana.

Calling the operation a significant breakthrough, the IG said that after sustained surveillance and persistent efforts, joint ATS–ANTF teams apprehended the accused from Kolkata’s New Town area in West Bengal. The teams reportedly remained in the state for around ten days to track him down.

He added that the accused had completely severed contact with his associates, switched off his mobile phones, and was living under a false identity, posing as a chemistry teacher and chemical trader in a residential area. Investigations revealed that he was preparing to revive his illegal drug operations in Kolkata, but the ANTF thwarted the plan before the network could be rebuilt.

In a related development, Indore police on Thursday arrested three people and seized 513 grams of MD drugs in Madhya Pradesh. The Crime Branch identified the accused as Nikhil and Mukesh from Mandsaur district and Kamlesh from Rajasthan. The trio was travelling on a motorcycle and transporting the drug consignment from Rajasthan. Acting on intelligence inputs, police set up a checkpoint on MR-4 Road. When the suspects tried to escape after spotting the police, they were chased, apprehended, and the contraband was recovered during a search.