Mumbai: The Anti-Narcotics Cell (ANC) of the Mumbai Police on Friday arrested a 37-year-old man from Bandra for alleged possession of mephedrone (MD) drugs worth over Rs 43 lakhs.
As per police sources, during their ‘hunt’ to trace and locate drug peddlers on a mission to make Mumbai drug-free, the Bandra unit of ANC found a man behaving suspiciously while patrolling on the night of Thursday.
After apprehending him for questioning, police officers discovered that he was one of the city's drug peddlers who specialised in buying and selling MD drugs. He was arrested immediately in the middle of the night.
The police have identified him as Danish Afzal Shaikh, a resident of Tardeo. He was apparently for ‘business purposes' in the Khernagar area of Bandra east. While frisking the accused, a total of 215 grams of MD was found in his possession, which is worth over Rs. 43,00,000 as per international market price, confirmed Deputy Commissioner of Police Datta Nalawade of ANC.
He was a history sheeter
He further confirmed that during the investigation, the police found out that Shaikh is a history sheeter who has over 17 cases registered against him in several police stations, including Tardeo, Gamdevi, Marine Drive, Khar, Dadar, Byculla, Vile Parle, NM Joshi Marg, Samta Nagar, Powai, Kalachowki, etc. The crimes committed by Shaikh include chain snatching, theft, robbery, etc.
It is suspected that Shaikh is linked with a bigger gang of dealers and sellers, which is to be investigated further by the police. "We are suspecting that he was part of a huge cartel, of which he was just a small part. Through further investigation, we will be able to find out more about his business partners, suppliers, and buyers. Especially those who are in the Mumbai area," said an official.
As of now, a case has been registered by the police against him under sections 8 (c) and 22 (c) of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, of 1985. He was presented in court for police custody remand.
