DRI busts mobile mephedrone lab in Sahyadri Ranges under “Operation Sahyadri Checkmate”; seizes nearly 22 kg mephedrone in different forms; five arrested

• DRI (Directorate of Revenue Intelligence), the apex anti-smuggling agency under the Ministry of Finance (Department of Revenue), dismantled a clandestine mobile mephedrone manufacturing laboratory in the Sahyadri ranges under codename "Operation Sahyadri Checkmate".
• Seizure: 21.912 kg of mephedrone (a psychotropic substance under the NDPS Act, 1985); five persons arrested.
• Significance for UPSC: illustrates India's synthetic drug challenge, role of DRI in narcotics enforcement, and the "Nasha Mukt Bharat" push — recurring GS-III (Internal Security) territory.