The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) has recovered 1.431 kg of mephedrone (MD) worth Rs 60 lakh in multiple seizures in Mumbai and arrested four people, an official said on Tuesday. ?

In a major operation conducted over two weeks, the NCB's Mumbai zonal unit has neutralised a local drug trafficking cartel, which was active in Mumbai and adjoining areas, the official claimed.

Acting on a tip-off, an NCB team laid a trap and apprehended a local distributor with 36 gm of mephedrone on the intervening night of October 21 and 22 in the Mumbra area of the neighbouring Thane district, he said.

During interrogation, the accused revealed that he had ordered 250 gm of MD from a supplier based in Bandra and was to receive the consignment on October 22, the official said.

Based on the information, the NCB made the second arrest and seized 245 gm of the drug from the supplier in the western suburb of Bandra, he said.

In the course of the investigation, the anti-drug agency found out about a Wadala-based taxi driver, who was working as a carrier and procuring the contraband from a man in Shilphata of Thane district, the official said.

A trap was laid and the duo was apprehended on Monday when they arrived for the sale and purchase of 1.150 kg of mephedrone, he said.

The drug and more than Rs 2 lakh cash were seized from them, the official said.

According to the NCB, the arrested accused were part of a larger cartel spread across various states and the members are well coordinated with a detailed syndicate hierarchy.

The accused have been involved in the drugs business for more than four to five years and have been using various methods to dodge law enforcement agencies, they said.?