Four held with ganja worth Rs 14.18 lakh in Thane district

The police on Tuesday said that four persons have been arrested for alleged possession of ganja worth Rs 14.18 lakh in Maharashtra`s Thane district, reported news agency PTI.

Based on a tip-off, a team from the Kashimira police station apprehended the accused on May 24, an official said.

He said the accused, Akhtar Rafique Sheikh (32), Jabbar Khajamiya Sheikh (30), Sharik Jamir Ansari (21), and Azgar Ali Arshad Hussain Ansari (21), are residents of Bhiwandi, reported PTI.

The official said the police team recovered 70.919 kg of ganja worth Rs 14.1 lakh from the men, along with a tempo.

He said one of the accused, Akhtar Rafique Sheikh, is a habitual offender with seven cases against him, including for theft and organised crime, reported PTI.

The accused have been booked under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, the official added.

Man held with ganja worth Rs 60,000 at Kalyan railway station

In another case, a man from Gujarat was arrested with ganja worth Rs 60,000 at a railway station in Maharashtra`s Thane district in the early hours of Monday, an official said, reported PTI.

The Railway Protection Force (RPF) and Government Railway Police (GRP), in a joint operation, apprehended the accused at Kalyan railway station around 4.30 am, the official said, reported PTI.

“Our team, along with RPF officers, noticed a man loitering suspiciously. We intercepted him for questioning, and during a search, we found 8.3 kg of ganja,” senior inspector Pandhari Kande said, reported PTI.

The accused, Nareshkumar Manharbhai Pancholi (34), a resident of Gujarat, has been arrested under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act.

Ganja worth Rs 40 lakh seized in Navi Mumbai

Meanwhile, Navi Mumbai police have seized 20 kg of ganja and arrested seven drug peddlers during simultaneous raids at multiple locations, officials said on Saturday, reported PTI.

The Anti-Narcotics Cell and local police units conducted raids at 48 places starting at 5 am on Friday under `Operation Prahar` and seized 20.7 kg of ganja or cannabis worth Rs 40 lakh, said a release, reported PTI.

Around 150 personnel were involved in the operation, it said.

Efforts were underway to trace the source of the seized contraband, the release added.

(With inputs from PTI)

This article first appeared on Mid Day