The two Iranian nationals, arrested in a drug case in the district, were allegedly running a cottage industry that was manufacturing synthetic illegal drug methamphetamine at a village near here, police said today.
Initially, the police had said that only one Iranian had been detained.
Besides the Iranians Musavi Masood (49) and Mohammed Jerani (30), a local woman, the owner of the house at Sirukoodalpatti where the duo was operating the "industry", has also been arrested by the Narcotics Intelligence Bureau officials.
The three were today produced before a court in Tirupattur which remanded them to judicial custody, police said.
On March 22, sleuths of Narcotics Control Bureau led by Superintendent of Police P Ashok raided a house on a tip-off that an international drug smuggling gang was staying in the village.
The NCB officials seized 5.2 kg of methamphetamine, a stimulant which is increasingly becoming a substitute for plant-based drugs such as opiates or cocaine, worth several crores in international market, from the house.
They detained the two Iranians and the woman, whose husband is working in Malaysia. Two local persons, who were helping the Iranians in running the unit, managed to escape and a search was on to nab them, police said.
Investigations in the last two days revealed that locals did not have much knowledge about the Iranians. Since the houseowner was living in Malaysia, they presumed the Iranians to be his friends from that country.
