Mysuru, 29 Jan

A day after the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) raided a phenyl manufacturing unit in Mysuru, the city police have decided to intensify checks in industrial areas to prevent illegal activities. Police said drives would be conducted in industrial belts and defunct units as a precautionary measure.

On Wednesday, a two-member NCB team from New Delhi, led by a sub-inspector, raided a phenyl manufacturing unit located in the Hebbal Industrial Area in north Mysuru. The search continued till evening. City police clarified that no narcotic or banned substances were seized during the operation.

According to police sources, the NCB team was in Mysuru as part of an ongoing investigation, as one of the accused in a narcotics-related case is a relative of the owner of the phenyl unit. Officials said no contraband was found, but materials used in detergent production, such as caustic soda and salt, were seized.

This was the second such incident where police from outside Karnataka raided a manufacturing unit in search of narcotics, which had triggered a political row. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah pointed at laxity of local police during a meeting with senior cops recently.