Navi Mumbai: In one of the biggest anti-drug operations in the Konkan region, the Raigad Police seized illegal Ketamine worth Rs 88.92 crore from an industrial unit in Mahad MIDC and arrested four persons. The operation was carried out based on a tip-off from a confidential informant and has exposed a large-scale illegal drug manufacturing racket.
Accused Include Chemistry Graduates and Drug Case Repeat Offenders
The accused have been identified as Machhindra Tukaram Bhosale (52) from Jite in Mahad, Sushant Santosh Patil (30) from Mahopre in Mahad, Shubham Sadashiv Sutar (30) from Kolhapur (currently residing in Nangalwadi, in Mahad), and Rohan Prabhakar Gavas from Malad West, Mumbai.
Bhosale, who was an employee of Gavas who owned Rohan Chemical Pvt Ltd, was under the watch of Anti Terrorist Squad (ATS) unit of Raigad as his expenditure was noticed to be more than his income.
“Bhosale was in radar of the ATS Raigad unit and when we found the first evidence of him linking to the drug manufacturing, we raided the factory,” assistant police inspector Jeevan Mane from Mahad MIDC police station said.
The raid was conducted jointly by Mahad MIDC, Mahad City, Poladpur and Local Crime Branch (LCB) units of Raigad police under the leadership of Raigad Superintendent of Police Aanchal Dalal. Raigad police had sought guidance from Anti Narcotic Unit of Mumbai too.
Owner of Rohan Chemical Pvt Ltd, Rohan Gavas, Has Multiple Narcotics Cases
According to police, Gavas has two narcotic cases against him while his father too has three cases against him. “The father-son duo have been in drug manufacturing business since 1985. Bhosale used to provide the raw material for the same. This year in the month of May, Bhosale too started manufacturing after getting the formula to make it from Gavas,” API Mane said. Bhosale was 10th fail but Patil and Sutar were BSc in Chemistry and hence Bhosale asked them to join him in manufacturing the drug.
Case Registered Under NDPS Act and Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita
The case was registered at Mahad MIDC Police Station under on July 24 under multiple sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, including Sections 8(c), 22(c), 25, 27(a), 29, and 42, as well as Section 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) 2023.
Tip-Off from Secret Informant Led to Raid
The operation was initiated after Police Constable Iqbal Chandkha Shaikh, attached to Mahad MIDC Police Station, received credible information from a secret source regarding Bhosale’s connection with the drug cartel.
Senior Officials Praise Swift Police Coordination
The seized consignment of ketamine has an estimated value of Rs 88.92 crore in the illicit drug market. Special Inspector General of Police, Konkan Range, Sanjay Darade praised the operation and congratulated the entire team for their swift and coordinated action.
The police have stated that the accused were operating in connivance for financial gain and were manufacturing the banned substance in violation of the law. Further investigations are underway to trace the supply chain and other possible links in the drug trafficking network.
