Seven Kenyans arrested after being caught trying to sneak in an intoxicant grass called Moguka
The police say the approximate value of the drugs would be Rs 6-7 crore
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After 25 successful visits to India to deliver consignments of 'Moguka' drug, 24-year-oldâÂÂu00c2u0080ÂÂu00c2u0088Kenyan Zainul Abid's luck finally ran out. On March 21, officials of the Mumbai airport's immigration department intercepted him, and on checking, found all of his three bags loaded with the drug. Soon after his arrest, he revealed the name of Nuru Mohammed Umer, who was supposed to arrive in the city on March 22 with another consignment. Following investigation, the Sahar police laid a trap at the airport and arrested Nuru along with five others and seized 15 bags of the drug from them.
Prime accused Nuru Mohammed Umer
Primary investigation has revealed that accused Nuru was the mastermind of the racket. He sent Zainul first and later decided to arrive in the city with the rest of the consignment. According to the police, the five who accompanied Nuru have been identified as Taufiq Ahmed Ali (Ethiopian), Mohammed Abdi Gabow (Kenyan), Hassan Mohammed Ibrahim (Ethiopian), Abdullah Zakriye (Swedish) and Jacqueline Nyareso Nyanwange (Kenyan).
Speaking to mid-day, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Anil Kumbhare said, "The drug is a fairly new one, and falls in the weed category. Samples have been sent to the forensic lab for testing to know more about it. Not much is known about its market price as well. Around 116 kg of a similar kind of drug was seized at the Ahmedabad airport two years back and its market value was around R2 crore." Police sources said the value of seized 'Moguka' would be something between Rs 6-7 crore.
The sources further said that the drugs were supposed to be delivered to someone in South Mumbai, after which it would have been dried and packed in the form of green tea bags to be exported to the US, UK and Canada. Earlier, the drug used to be sent to India from Kenya and Ethiopia through courier service, but recently the accused started getting it via the air route.
According to the police, the receiver of the drugs has been identified as a resident of Mohammad Ali Road. He was supposed to pick up the consignment from an area in South Mumbai. However, he managed to escape before the cops could arrest him, and his phone has been switched off since then. Kumbhare further said, "As the drug does not fall under the Narcotics Drugs Psychotropic Substance Act, the accused have been booked under section 328 of IPC. They will be produced before court tomorrow."
Rs 6-7cr
The estimated value of the consignment
300 kg
Total quantity of Moguka seized from the accused
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