Pratapgarh police seize 7.3 kg of MD precursor chemical worth Rs 5.60 crore ; one arrested

Jaipur: Pratapgarh police have seized 7.387 kilograms of 2-Bromo-4-Methylpropiophenone, a banned chemical used to manufacture the synthetic drug MD, along with 5 grams of ready MD, in what officials have described as the district’s first seizure of the precursor since it was brought under the NDPS Act last month. The haul, estimated to be worth Rs 5.60 crore in the international market, was made under an ongoing anti-narcotics push code-named Operation Trinetra.

Superintendent of Police B. Aditya said a team from Arnod police station and the District Special Team, acting on a tip-off, raided the farm well of Abid Khan, a resident of Naugaon village under Arnod police station, after receiving information that he was preparing MD on the premises with his family. The operation was carried out under the supervision of Additional Superintendent of Police Gajendra Singh Jodha and Circle Officer Chandrashekhar Paliwal.

During the search, the team found a sack hidden under leaves inside a water tank near the well. It contained a shiny powder later identified as the banned chemical precursor. A separate pouch containing ready MD was also recovered from the spot, police said. The joint operation was led on the ground by Arnod station house officer Shivlal Meena and DST in-charge Pratap Singh.

Police said the action is particularly significant because 2-Bromo-4-Methylpropiophenone was added to the NDPS Act only a few weeks ago, through a central government gazette notification dated March 11, 2026. The Pratapgarh haul is described as the first such seizure of the precursor in the district after the new listing came into force.

Abid Khan has been arrested and booked under the NDPS Act. Investigators are now trying to establish where the banned chemical was sourced from, and which states or cities the MD prepared on the farm was intended to be supplied to.