New Delhi, June 2 (IANS): A pharmacy owner was arrested with over 20 kg of psychotropic drug ephedrine, worth Rs. 2 crore, he sold under cover of his business, police said on Tuesday.

Sunil Sharma, a resident of Ashok Vihar, was arrested on May 30 from Bhagirath Place market, one of the biggest medicine wholesale market in India, in north Delhi.

Police said that Sharma runs a pharmaceutical shop there.

"Sharma's father was in pharmaceutical business, so he continued it. As his the business was not doing well, he indulged in supply of ephedrine to earn quick money," said Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime Branch) Ravindra Yadav.

A team supervised by Additional Commissioner of Police Ashok Chand held Sharma when he was entering in his shop with a consignment of ephedrine which he had received from some of his contacts.

"The consignment of ephedrine was wrapped inside a heavy polythene bag weighing 10.2 kg. During investigation, 10 kg of ephedrine was also further recovered from his warehouse," Yadav said.

Sharma, a commerce graduate from Delhi University, used to procure ephedrine from a chemical company at Ahmedabad.

According to Yadav, ephedrine is also used by the addicts directly and in combination with caffeine and alcohol. It and pseudo-ephedrine are control substances used to manufacture some other psychotropic substances like methamphetamine, amphetamine and "Meow-Meow".

Experts said that ephedrine gives its users a high as it stimulates the nervous system. It also causes short-term weight loss and used by athletes to enhance performance.

Earlier this week, the Crime Branch arrested three youths, including an MBA graduate from Singapore, for allegedly supplying amphetamine to rave parties in Delhi and around the NCR and 275 grams of the drug worth Rs. 30 lakh was seized from them.