Gangster Ejaz Lakdawala's cousin Nadeem held at Mumbai airport

Lookout circular had been issued against Nadeem Lakdawala for aiding gangster in extortion activities

Nadeem Lakdawala, 49, a cousin of gangster Ejaz Lakdawala, was arrested by the Anti Extortion Cell (AEC) of the Mumbai Police on Sunday. He was arrested from the international airport after he arrived from Saudi Arabia. According to the crime branch, Nadeem had played a major role in facilitating and providing information to the gangster to help him run his extortion syndicate. 

Lakdawala was arrested in the first week of January, from Patna, in an extortion case and is still in the Crime Branch custody. The AEC is investigating the dozens of extortion cases against him and is trying to unearth his entire network and the criminals who were helping him with information on city businessmen and builders." During the course of the investigation, he revealed the names of his close associates. The information was verified and some arrests related to the extortion racket have been made," said DCP Shahaji Umap.

On Sunday, Nadeem was arrested as there was already a lookout notice against him. The alert was generated after he had landed at the airport."He was booked along with Lakdawala for providing information about city builders to the gangster, who would then make calls to builders demanding a ransom of Rs 1 crore," said Santosh Rastogi, joint commissioner, Crime Branch. According to the Crime Branch, Lakdawala had revealed Nadeem's name during interrogation, based on which the officers searched Nadeem's residence and also questioned his relatives to find out his whereabouts. The agency came to know that he had left India on February 17 for Dubai and then visited Saudi Arabia, following which the lookout circular was issued against him.

Earlier, the AEC had also arrested Dawood's close aide Tariq Parveen and top police informer Saleem Maharaj for facilitating Lakdawala's extortion racket and providing information to the gangster. Nadeem is one of the directors with Hicons Developers in Bandra, which has several real estate projects in locality and the near by areas.

Catch up on all the latest Mumbai news, crime news, current affairs, and also a complete guide on Mumbai from food to things to do and events across the city here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates

"Exciting news! Mid-day is now on WhatsApp Channels Subscribe today by clicking the link and stay updated with the latest news!" Click here!