DRI Busts Synthetic Drug Laboratory in Jalaun, Seizes 1,100 kg

The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI), which works under the Ministry of Finance, has shut down a large secret laboratory that was making synthetic drugs in a far-flung village of Jalaun district in Uttar Pradesh. About 1,100 kg of drugs and precursor chemicals were taken away, along with the machinery used to make them, and two men were arrested.

How the raid unfolded

The agency acted on precise intelligence. A large team of DRI officers, helped on the ground by the Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terrorist Squad, moved on the suspected premises in the early hours of 29 October 2026. Inside, the officers found a laboratory that was fully set up and running, not a makeshift arrangement. The search there yielded roughly 184 kg of half-made drugs together with about 582 kg of precursor chemicals and the equipment used in the process.

What the follow-up searches found

The officers moved quickly to the homes of the accused. At one residence they recovered close to 15.4 kg of finished methaqualone, some 153 kg of chemicals and a machine used in manufacture. A search at the premises of the second accused turned up another 168 kg of precursor chemicals.

Arrests and the law applied

Two persons linked to the secret facility were arrested under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985. The quantity and mix of what was taken, finished drug, half-made material, raw chemicals and plant, points to an organised manufacturing operation rather than a small-time effort, the agency said.

Why it matters

Dismantling a production unit of this size takes a sizeable stock out of the illegal supply chain and stops further batches from being made. The DRI said it would keep working to break up secret manufacturing networks and the supply lines that feed them, as part of its effort against trafficking in narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances. Synthetic drugs made in hidden rural laboratories have become a growing worry for enforcement agencies because the chemicals involved are easy to move and the units can be put up quickly.