Inter-state drug racket: Mephedrone, other items worth more than Rs 327 crore seized; 15 held

Thane: In one of the biggest intelligence-based anti-narcotics operations in recent times, the police has busted a major inter-state drugs racket with the arrest of 15 persons and seizure of contraband to the tune of Rs 327.69 crore.

The gang was dealing mainly in Mephedrone (MD), which is available in various forms. 

The operation was carried out by Mira-Bhayander Vasai-Virar (MBVV) police commissionerate. 

The operation was conducted across Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Telangana and Gujarat during May-June, when several premises of drug manufacturing units were raided.

MBVV police chief Madhukar Pandey oversaw the crucial operation.

Of those arrested, eight are from Uttar Pradesh, three each are from Maharashtra and Telangana, and one from Gujarat. 

One of the key absconding accused in the case is Salim Dola, who is linked to the syndicate run by fugitive gangster Dawood Ibrahim Kaskar and his lieutenant Chhota Shakeel. 

The investigations were launched in mid-May, when the MBVV Crime Branch, Kashimira Police Unit 1 sleuths seized 1 kg of MD worth Rs 2 crore, and nabbed two persons - both of Vasai town in Palghar district, at a checkpost in Chenagaon, Thane district. 

Their sustained interrogation led to the unravelling of their tentacles spread in other states and multiple trams were fanned out.  

During the probe, police found that some amount was also transported through angadias - a traditional form of courier service. Subsequently, the police turned focus towards Jaunpur in Uttar Pradesh where some of the accused were running a Mephedrone manufacturing factory. 

Police teams seized 300 kgs of raw materials from the unit kept in drums and valued at Rs 300 crores; they also arrested three persons.

Some of the main accused arrested from this racket are identified as Shoaib Memon and Nicholas Tritus (both from Vasai in Palghar); Dayanand Mudanar alias Daya, Nasir Shaikh alias Baba (both from Telangana); Ghanshyam Saroj (from Varanasi); Mohamed Moin (from Mumbai); Bharat Jadhav alias Babu (from Thane); Murtuza Kothari alias Zulfikar (from Surat).