Mumbai: NCB arrests top druglord with Dawood-link

In a major breakthrough, the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) on Monday nabbed notorious druglord Arif Bhujwala, who is linked to the Dawood Ibrahim gang.

The arrest of Bhujwala comes close on the arrest of another druglord Parvez Khan alias Chinku Pathan, who is the grandson of late underworld don Karim Lala.

It may be mentioned, Abdul Karim Sher Khan alias Karim Lala hailed from the Kunar province of Afghanistan and was one of the three top dons who operated in Mumbai from the sixties to eighties – the other two being Haji Mastan and Varadarajan Mudliar.

Pathan was arrested last week after the NCB carried out a raid in the Dongri area of Mumbai, however, Bhujwala was absconding.

Bhujwala and Pathan are closely associated with the drug network run from the Middle East by fugitive gangster Anees Ibrahim, the younger brother of Pakistan-based Dawood Ibrahim, who is wanted by the Indian government in the March 1993 Mumbai serial blasts case.

The duo has connections in the Gulf and South-East Asia.

After the arrest of Pathan, the NCB had issued lookout notices at all airports and ports against Bhujwala.

However, he ran out of luck and was arrested in the Raigad district.

During last week’s raid, the federal anti-drug agency had seized 5.69 kg mephedrone (MD), 1 kg of methamphetamine and 6.12 kg of ephedrine.

Known for a luxurious lifestyle, Bhujwala's clandestine business runs in several hundred crores.