The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) on Monday directed all entities handling 2-bromo-4-methylpropiophenone, a chemical abused by the drug mafia to manufacture the psychotropic substance mephedrone, to obtain registration under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) framework and declare their stocks within stipulated timelines.
HT reported on March 13 that the chemical had been placed on the list of controlled substances due to its widespread misuse by drug gangs to manufacture mephedrone (known as meow-meow and drone).
The Revenue Department of the Federal Ministry of Finance issued a notification on March 11, making it the eighth chemical to be declared a controlled substance.
The NCB found that several clandestine laboratories were using the chemical in Meow Meow and wrote to the Union Home Minister to include it in the list of controlled substances. The agency wrote to state police forces last year about the need to identify such laboratories. Clandestine laboratories across the country that manufacture drugs have become a new challenge for agencies.
The National Commercial Bank said in a statement on Monday that all persons and entities involved in the manufacture, distribution, sale, purchase, possession, storage, consumption, import or export of the substance, including those who facilitate transactions through websites, social media platforms or other electronic means, are required to obtain a registration number from the agency’s judicial district director.
The Drug Control Agency asked companies and entities to submit registration applications to the relevant regional unit until next August 7, to ensure that registration numbers are issued within the legal period of 180 days starting from March 11.
“The office also requested manufacturers, traders, distributors, importers, exporters, consumers, users and others with stocks of the substance to submit details of stocks held up to June 30, 2026, to the judicial district director by July 10, 2026,” a NCB spokesperson said.
The Union Home Ministry and central drug control agencies are working on a three-year action plan targeting local drug gangs and fugitives abroad. They have created new sectors in federal agencies, and are preparing a national list as part of the drive to make India drug-free by 2047. This, along with eliminating insurgency in the Northeast, is the government’s priority after eliminating left-wing extremism.
