The name of notorious drug queen Shashikala alias Baby Patankar, 57, first cropped up in 2015, after she was arrested for allegedly smuggling 122 kg of mephedrone (MD) worth crores of rupees. Patankar had scripted a spectacular growth in the narcotics trade in the short span of a few decades, having started out as a small-time peddler - smuggling drugs like marijuana and brown sugar - before emerging as one of the biggest dealers of MD in the state. Switch to three years later, more and more women in the city are getting their hands dirty in the drug business.

According to the Anti-Narcotics Cell (ANC) of the Mumbai crime branch, the involvement of women peddlers has significantly spiralled, with as many as 16 women being arrested in the city until September 7 this year. The rise in the involvement of women - last year, the ANC only made four arrests - has forced law enforcers to re-examine the changing face of the drug peddling industry. Women are no longer just working as foot-soldiers, but entirely taking over the businesses from their husbands and fathers, authorities said. Strict procedures, which make it difficult to arrest women, have only made it a more lucrative option for them.