MUMBAI, May 16: The drug mafia's constant search for more ingenious and covert ways to manufacture and traffic the contraband has led them to the Khair tree. In the forests of Thane, these trees are being cut indiscriminately for use as raw material, which is then processed to a substance close to synthetic opiates.

The new alternative is a cheap smack a product of coagulated juices from Khair trees blended with chemicals like acetic anhydride. Speaking to Express Newsline, Thane Collector Ujjwal Uke disclosed that a few thousand Khair trees were cut every year for manufacturing banned intoxicants.

According to him, most of the gangs involved in the operation are armed with the latest weapons including AK-47 assault rifles. ``A special task force is being geared to tackle the menace of these operators, who have been plundering the eco-sensitive forests in the district for nefarious activities.''

Another senior official revealed that the chopped trees are hauled to some laboratories in Bhilad, Gujarat, bordering Thane district. There, the coagulated juice from the Khair pulp is mixed with chemicals to form synthetic intoxicants. The finished product is almost as potent as brown sugar, claimed the official.

Deputy Commissioner of Police, Narcotics Cell, Hemant Karkare said the processed derivative could be some kind of drug ``impurities''. These products have ready buyers, who use it as a cheap substitute for the costly drugs, added Karkare.

While confirming that Khair trees are used in the manufacture of ``kattha'' and ``ghutkas'', Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Joint Commissioner A Vatkar pleaded ignorance to the fact that they are being used for processing alternatives to synthetic opiates.

``No such incident has come to our notice so far. However, we will examine the matter if approached by appropriate authorities,'' he said. A senior forest official of Thane, disclosed that smuggling of Khair trees has become a major source of income for members of the notorious Bhai Thakur gang. Operating from Virar near Mumbai, these gangsters allegedly have connections with other gangs in Gujarat.

According to the forest department, at least three truckloads of Khair trees are smuggled out of Thane everyday. Officials estimated the monetary value of a truckload of Khair trees at over Rs 15,000 in the black market.

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.