Mumbai: Cops bust interstate drug manufacturing syndicate; seize MD worth 327 crore

Pics/Hanif Patel

The Crime Branch Unit 1, under the jurisdiction of the Mira Bhayander Vasai Virar police, busted an interstate drug gang and seized two drug-making factories in Telangana and Uttar Pradesh. The police arrested 15 persons who all belong to different states. The police seized a large quantity of ready Mephedrone (MD) drugs and raw materials used to manufacture MD, worth about Rs 327 crores. Additionally, they confiscated one pistol and 33 live cartridges.

According to the sources, the mastermind of the gang is a close associate of underworld don Dawood Ibrahim Kaskar identified as Salim Dola who allegedly finances the gang and provides raw chemicals to the arrested accused but he is absconding.

Acting on a tip-off from a secret informant about a planned narcotics transaction in the Mira Bhayandar area, the Crime Branch Unit 01 detained two suspects, Shoeb Menon and Nicholas Tait, on May 15 near Dwarka Hotel in Chena Village. They seized 1000 grams of Mephedrone (MD) from them.

During the probe, Shoeb spilled the beans which led to the arrests of Dayanand alias Daya Muddanar and Nasir alias Baba Shaikh from Hyderabad (Telangana). The police also raided an MD drug factory run by Dayanand in Narsapur which falls under the Marpalli Commissionarate of Vikarabad district (Telangana), seizing MD drugs valued at Rs 20.60 lakh and raw chemicals worth about Rs 25 crores used for making the drugs.

Based on information from Daya, the police arrested Bharat alias Babu Jadhav from Shahapur in Thane on May 27. They seized drugs valued at about Rs 53.7 thousand and other materials used to make MD drugs from his room in Padgha. Jadhav revealed that Salim Dola (from Mumbai) and Zulfikaar alias Murtuza Kothari (from Surat) provided financial help for making MD drugs.

On May 31, the police caught Kothari from Surat and seized Rs 10.84 lakh in cash, which Dola had given to him. From Kothari, it was revealed that Dola used to send money through "Angadiya". Consequently, the police caught Mustafa Furniturewala and Husain Furniturewala, who run an Angadiya in Bhendi bazaar and seized Rs 6.8 lakh from them, given by Salim Dola.

Further investigations revealed that Madhiyun Taluka, Jaunpur district, wanted accused Salim Dola and arrested accused Dayanand were associated with Asif Tufique Khan (Azamgarh) and his brother Babu Taufique Khan. Their associates were running a unit manufacturing MD drugs. The police later caught Babu Taufique Khan, Mohammed Nadeem Khan, and Ahmed Shah Faisal Azmi, and seized raw chemicals valued at Rs 300 crores.

Related to this case, the police arrested Amir Khan, Mohammed Shadab Khan, and Alok Virendra Singh, all from Azamgarh district in UP, from Lucknow on June 25. Based on information from accused Amir Taufique Khan, the police arrested Abhishek alias Shubham Singh (Jaunpur) on July 1 with arms: a revolver and 33 live cartridges, from the Nalasopara area, said an officer.

"The Crime Branch Unit 01 officials have so far arrested 15 accused from four states: Telangana, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, and Maharashtra. They have seized drugs and raw materials valued at about Rs 327 crores, Rs 69 lakh, and Rs 43 thousand 60 rupees said police commissioner Madhukar Pandey MBVV commissionarate.

He appreciates the entire team of Unit 1 crime branch including DCP Avinash Ambure, ACP Madan Ballal, police inspector Aviraj Kurade, API Prashant Gangurde, Pushpas Surve,PSI Raju Tambe, ASI Sandeep Shinde, police constable Sanjay Shinde, Santosh Landge, Avinash Garje, Pushpedra Thapa, Vijay Gaikwad, etc further investigation is underway he added."