Navi Mumbai: 49-year-old man held with mephedrone worth Rs 50 lakh

Police have arrested a 49yearold man and seized mephedrone a banned drug worth Rs 50 lakh from his possession in Navi Mumbai township an official told news agency PTI on WednesdayActing on a tipoff the Navi Mumbai polices AntiNarcotics Cell laid a trap near the mans house in Taloja area on Tuesday evening and caught himThe police seized 500 gms of mephedrone powder a synthetic stimulant from his possession the official from Taloja police station told PTIThe man was booked under provisions of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances NDPS Act the official told PTIThe police were trying to find out from where the accused sourced the contraband and to whom he planned to sell it the police told PTIMeanwhile seven Nigerian nationals have been arrested and drugs worth Rs 1905 crore seized from them after a major crackdown against drug peddlers in Maharashtras Navi Mumbai township a senior police official told PTI on SundayThe contraband seizure and arrests were made following raids on September 1 in residential localities in Kharghar area Navi Mumbai Police Commissioner Milind Bharambe told PTIThe police had received a tipoff that some Nigerians had stocked drugs and were selling them he saidThe seized drugs included cocaine MDMA and tablets of tramadol hydrochloride a psychotropic substance the official told PTIThe seven arrested persons were booked under provisions of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances NDPS Act the official told PTIThe police were trying to find out from where the accused got the drugs and to whom they were selling them the official told PTIEarlier the Navi Mumbai police carried out a massive operation against drug peddlers and seized drugs worth Rs 496 crore an officer told PTI on September 2The drive involved raiding various places at six locations including Vashi Koparkhairane Kharghar and Taloja on Friday the official told PTIThe officer said 74 foreign nationals were quizzed while five offences were registered under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act NDPS and the Passport ActPolice seized 898 gm cocaine 267 gm MD 36640 strips of banned tramadol a psychotropic substance collectively worth Rs 49626000 During the raids police found 11 persons with criminal background against whom various offences were registered previously the official told PTIA total of nine persons were found living with invalid documents while a leave India notice was issued to 31 persons whose visas had expiredPolice seized vehicles mobile phones and other electronic gadgets of the accused for forensic investigationWith inputs from PTI