Ahmedabad: The Gujarat Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) on Tuesday announced the arrest of two individuals for allegedly supplying precursor chemicals used in the production of the psychotropic drug Fentanyl and other banned substances to Mexico, Guatemala, and other countries linked to international drug cartels.

On Monday, the ATS booked Satishkumar Haresh Sutaria and Yukta Ashishkumar Modi, majority partners in three Surat-based pharmaceutical firms—Athos Chemicals Private Limited, Agrat Chemicals and Pharmaceuticals, and SR Chemicals and Pharmaceuticals—for allegedly smuggling Fentanyl precursors to a company suspected of having ties to the Sinaloa Drug Cartel.

DIG Sunil Joshi revealed that intelligence gathered over four months led to the revelation that these firms had been exporting precursor chemicals, such as 1-Boc-4-piperidone and 4-piperidone, to countries bordering those where Fentanyl is banned, particularly Mexico and Guatemala. The illegal trade, which has been ongoing for at least a year, reportedly yielded profits seven to eight times higher than the chemicals’ purchase costs in India.

The accused have been booked under Sections 28, 29, and 30 of the NDPS Act, along with Sections 336(2), 340(2), and 350(1) of the BNS for forgery, falsifying documents, and mislabeling goods.

*”It was discovered that the partners of the aforementioned companies had illegally procured and exported 1-Boc-4-piperidone (N-Boc-4-piperidone) and 4-piperidone, which are used in the production of the banned drug Fentanyl. These substances have been placed on the Red List by the United Nations International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) and are also listed under the International Special Surveillance List (ISSL) by India’s *Central Bureau of Narcotics (CBN),” the ATS said in a statement.

According to DIG Joshi, the accused allegedly used forged end-user certificates and fake invoices to obtain the chemicals and disguised shipments as vitamin C. Although no banned substances were seized, the ATS has identified shipping containers carrying these chemicals, which are now being intercepted by Customs.

Investigators also found that Agrat Chemicals and Pharmaceuticals had supplied 4-Anilino-N-phenethylpiperidine (ANPP) and N-Phynethyl-4-piperidinone (NPP)—both Fentanyl precursors—to J&C Imports in Guatemala, a firm suspected to have links with the notorious Sinaloa cartel. These substances, listed under international narcotics control regulations, are strictly monitored worldwide.

The Sinaloa Cartel, a major drug trafficking syndicate based in Mexico, was recently designated a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) by the U.S. State Department. DeshGujarat