NCB seizes drugs worth over Rs 120 crore from Mumbai, Gujarat; ex-Air India pilot among 6 held

The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), in a major operation, seized 60 kg mephedrone worth more than Rs 120 crore from Mumbai and Gujarat, and arrested six persons including a former pilot of Air India.

A designer drug, mephedrone is also known as MD or meow-meow or M-cat. It is a stimulant drug that escalates the speed of the messages travelling between the mind and body, and also one of the new psychoactive substances, designed to mimic the way illicit drugs work on the mind and body.

While four persons were arrested from Jamnagar in Gujarat, two were picked up from Mumbai.

NCB’s Deputy Director General Sanjay Singh and Mumbai Zonal Director Amit Ghawate oversaw the operation, which was carried out following specific inputs from the Naval Intelligence Unit at Jamnagar.

On October 3, Bhaskar V was arrested from Jamnagar, and S G Mahida, S M Chowdhury and Muthu P D were arrested from Mumbai. Two others, M I Ali and M F Chishti, were arrested from Mumbai on October 6.

Investigations revealed that Mahida was a pilot and served in Air India from 2016-18. He had completed his flying training from Lithuania, and San Antonio, in Texas, US.

Muthu is a history-sheeter who was arrested by Directorate of Revenue Intelligence in 2001 for trafficking about 350 kg Mandrax; he had been out on bail since 2008.

According to an NCB official, the source of the drugs seized in Jamnagar and Mumbai were found to be the same. “It is further analysed that the total 60 kg seized MD is a part of a consignment and has linkages with the earlier seizure of MD made by the Mumbai police,” the official said.