In a prize catch for the Thane (rural) police, two drug peddlers landed behind bars after they were found to be carrying 25 kg of ephedrine in Bhayandar during the early hours on Saturday.

While ephedrine is said to be a party drug that stimulates the brain while increasing the heart rate, metabolism, and body heat, the seized contraband has an estimated market value of around Rs. 3 crores in the international market, police said.

Following a tip-off, a special team led by Assistant SP- Atul Kulkarni laid a trap and apprehended the suspects immediately after they alighted from an auto-rickshaw near Hotel Buntas in Bhayandar (East).

Upon checking the two bags they were carrying, the police team found 25 kg of ephedrine drugs worth Rs. 3 crore. The accused have been identified as- Yogesh Ramanlal Shah (50) and Sadev Vaijnath Jamadar (38) — Both residents of Kandivali in Mumbai.

While a case under sections 9 (a), 25 (a) and 25 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act has been registered against the duo at the Navghar police station, an investigating team is checking the antecedents of the accused and also trying to ascertain the source and destination of the consignment.