The growing menace of African nationals trading drugs in the city has made the Anti-Narcotic Cell (ANC) of the Mumbai crime branch step up its action against them. ANC has now started mapping areas in and around Mumbai to list the spots they operate. Till June this year, ANC seized 1,614 grams of cocaine and 1,335 grams of mephedrone worth Rs 6.38 crore.
The crackdown by ANC in Mumbai has seen foreign nationals shift to Navi Mumbai and Mira Road. "With the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) and ANC cracking down on the drug syndicate, these foreign nationals have shifted their base out of Mumbai. They seldom come to Mumbai to deliver drugs,” said an officer from ANC.
From railways tracks near Byculla, which once used to be a chosen spot to trade drugs, these foreign nationals have moved to Navi Mumbai where they operate out of mangrove forests near near Alfa lodge, Navi Mumbai, track near Kharghar railway station, Vashi, behind Vashi village, near Vashi railway station, Jugav in Sector 11 of Vashi, mangroves alongside Palm Beach Road and near Taloja MIDC. Similarly, they are active on the 90 feet road at Nalasopara and at the GIS club in Mira road, said ANC officials.
Milind Bharambe, joint commissioner of police, Mumbai crime branch said, "Our team keeps getting information on active drug dealers. It’s a constant process to crack down on these peddlers. It's a challenging job to arrest them."
Now, Navi Mumbai police too has started cracking down on these foreign nationals. On June 8, a team of 40 policemen conducted a combing operation and found 13 African nationals staying in Vashi without valid documents. Pravin Patil, deputy commissioner of police Navi Mumbai crime branch said, “We are not roping in personnel from special branches to take action against foreign nationals. We have started the drive and it will be ongoing.”
