Loni Kalbhor police bust mephedrone gang in Pune district, seven held, three pistols seized

Pune, November 7, 2026: Lonikand police in Pune district have busted a gang trafficking mephedrone (MD). Seven people have been arrested in the operation. Police seized 128.3 grams of mephedrone, three country-made pistols and five live cartridges from them.

The network came to light when police, in a special operation, caught one accused with mephedrone and a weapon. On questioning, the names of the six other suspects emerged. They are accused of being part of this drug supply network.

The arrested accused have been identified as: Prateek alias Sonya Dattatray Hole (35), a resident of Loni Kand; Vishal Shivaji Makar (26) and Somnath Sanjay Gore (24), both from Shirur; Vishal alias Dada Ramdas Kolte (33), a resident of Bakori; Rajuram Umedram Chaudhary (34) of Ranjangaon in Shirur taluka; and Vaibhav Balu Khedkar (28) and Shivam Prashant Dedge (21), also residents of Shirur.

Police have stepped up action against those involved in the sale, storage and distribution of narcotics across the city. As part of this drive, a team from Loni Kand police station was patrolling its area when policemen Shubham Chinke and Sudhir Shivle received information that a man was about to come near Katkewadi Phata to sell mephedrone.

Acting on this information, a team led by Police Inspector Sunita Rokde laid a trap and took Hole into custody. A search found 19.4 grams of mephedrone, a pistol and two live cartridges on him.

During questioning, Hole allegedly named Makar and Gore as being involved. Police then took the two into custody and seized two country-made pistols and three live cartridges from them.

Further investigation brought out the alleged roles of Kolte, Chaudhary, Khedkar and Dedge. Police seized a further 108.4 grams of mephedrone from these four accused.

Police are now trying to find out where the drugs and weapons came from. The search for others linked to the trafficking network is also continuing.