Mohammed Iqbal Charaloo (38) and Bashir Kadi (50) would smuggle drugs by intercepting trucks carrying dry fruits after they cleared the check posts to hide the consignment
Mohammed Iqbal Charaloo (38) and Bashir Kadi (50) would smuggle drugs by intercepting trucks carrying dry fruits after they cleared the check posts to hide the consignment
In a major breakthrough, the Anti-Narcotic Cell (ANC) of the Anti-Terrorism Squad arrested two notorious and
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ARRESTED: Mohammed Iqbal Charaloo (top) and his associate Bashir Kadi (below).
pic courtesy/
mumbai police |
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wanted drug peddlers outside KEM Hospital in Parel recently. The men have origins in Jammu and Kashmir.
Acting on a tip-off received by Assistant Inspector Mohan Mane, the police laid a trap near gate no 8 of the hospital and spotted a vehicle bearing a J&K number plate moving in a suspicious manner. The police intercepted the vehicle and seized 30 kg of cannabis, worth over Rs 3 crore in the international market.
Modus operandi Preliminary investigations revealed that Mohammed Iqbal Charaloo (38) and his associate Bashir Kadi (50) from Baramulla were among the most wanted drug suppliers in Mumbai and Gujarat, and have been in the business for over a decade.
Inspector Bhanudas Jadhav said that the duo would smuggle cannabis by intercepting trucks carrying dry fruits after they had cleared the check posts to hide the consignment. On reaching the destination, the consignment would be collected by the chain contact in the said area on the basis of details shared by them.
Kadi was recently released from Ahmedabad jail after completing 10 years' imprisonment for drug peddling.
57 kg in all The police then arrested Mohammed Afzal Qureshi (38), a noted drug peddler from Nagpada in the last week of February. Charaloo and Kadi had told the police that Qureshi was their main contact in Mumbai, and that they had come to meet him on the day they were arrested.
It was Qureshi who supplied cannabis in smaller quantities to his peddlers in Mumbai, and they ensured that the drug reached the end user in smaller quantities. Ten gm of cannabis are being sold at Rs 1,000 in Mumbai, said the police.
Another 27 kg of cannabis was recovered from a subsequent raid, where eight peddlers were arrested. In all, the police recovered 57 kg of cannabis worth Rs 5.6 crore in the international market.
Cannabis cultivation in Jammu & Kashmir
In Jammu and Kashmir, the Cannabis sativa plant is grown in Anantnag, Baramulla, Srinagar, Pulwama, Kupwara, Doda and Kishtwar. Hashish manufactured from cannabis produced in these areas is considered to be of very high quality.
Cannabis is grown in certain parts of the state to generate money for terrorist funding. As the enforcement agencies are more concerned about militancy there, cannabis cultivation becomes a low priority for them.
