Drugs worth Rs 8.15 crore seized from cement godown; two held

Mumbai Police have seized mephedrone worth Rs 8.15 crore from a cement godown in the city and arrested two persons in connection with the matter, an official said on Monday, reported the PTI.

According to the police it arrested the accused who were identified as Sadik Salim Sheikh (28), a resident of Bandra, and Mira Road resident Siraj Panjwani (57) under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, as per the PTI.

Sheikh was caught in the Kajupada locality in Sakinaka last week, and mephedrone worth Rs 10 lakh was recovered from him, an official said.

During interrogation, Sheikh said that he had procured the contraband from Panjwani, who was subsequently nabbed from Mira Road, the official said.

He said the accused informed the police that the drugs were made by one Kaluram Chowdhary at his cement godown, following which they raided the premises and recovered 4.5 kg of the contraband, according to the PTI.

Chowdhary, however, managed to flee, and a hunt is on for him, the official said, adding that the accused may have links to a drug mafia and more arrests are likely in the case, the news agency reported.

MBVV Police seize drugs worth over Rs 22 crore in Thane; three held

In an another major operation in Maharashtra, the Mira Bhayander Vasai Virar (MBVV) police had earlier this month seized nearly drugs worth over Rs 22 crore, in Maharashtra`s Thane district and arrested three persons, including two foreign nationals, an official had earlier said, reported the PTI.

Acting on a tip, the MBVV on April 15 arrested a woman, identified as Shabina Shaikh (42), and recovered 11.8 kg of cocaine, valued at Rs 17.74 crore, from her, said Assistant Commissioner of Police (Crime) Madan Ballal, as per the PTI.

“The first arrest led us deeper into the supply chain,” ACP Ballal said.

Shaikh, in her interrogations, told the police that the drugs were supplied to her by a Nigerian national, identified as Andy Ubabudike Onyinse (45), living in Mira Road East.

Police subsequently arrested him, recovering 2.608 kg of cocaine, valued at Rs 3.9 crore, according to the PTI.

“Further questioning of the Nigerian national led us to another key player in the network. We arrested a 32-year-old woman from Cameroon, Christabel Enjei, residing in Vasai East, and recovered 433.2 grams of cocaine worth Rs 64.98 lakh from her possession,” the official had earlier this month said.

Senior inspector Pramod Badakh of Crime Branch Unit-1, Kashimira, said that they have also recovered Rs 2.84 lakh in foreign currency and Indian rupees.

“We are now investigating the larger network – where the contraband originated from and who the intended buyers were. More arrests are likely as the probe progresses,” ACP Ballal added, the news agency reported.

(with PTI inputs)