Mumbai: Mumbai Police have intensified their crackdown on illegal substances targeting banned hookah flavours. The Crime Branch Unit 1 raided a godown following a specific tip-off and seized a massive stock of 1,831 boxes of hookah flavours containing nicotine and missing the mandatory statutory health warnings. The total value of the confiscated goods is estimated at Rs 3.01 crore, the police confirmed in an update on Thursday.
The seizure marks one of the biggest actions against the illegal hookah trade in recent months, highlighting how such products continue to circulate despite a ban on nicotine-based smoking substances in Maharashtra.
Anti-Narcotics Cell Nabs Habitual Offender Akbar Khau From Odisha
Meanwhile, in a separate operation, the Anti-Narcotics Cell (ANC) arrested a wanted and habitual offender, Ahmed Mohammed Shafi Shaikh alias Akbar Khau, from Odisha in connection with a mephedrone (MD) trafficking case.
According to officials, the Ghatkopar ANC Unit had earlier registered an FIR under Sections 8(c), 22(3), 22(c), and 29 of the NDPS Act, 1985, after seizing 64 grams of mephedrone valued at around Rs 12.8 lakh. In that case, one accused, Farid Rehmatulla Shaikh alias Farid Chuha, was arrested, while Akbar Khau was identified as a co-conspirator who had supplied the seized narcotics.
Investigations revealed that Akbar Khau, previously booked under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) in Thane and released on bail, had resumed his involvement in drug trafficking. Acting on intelligence inputs, an ANC team traced him to Rajgangpur, Sundargarh district, Odisha, where he had been hiding.
The team arrested him on November 1, 2025, at Rabbani Chowk and brought him to Mumbai after securing a transit remand. He was produced before the Mumbai Sessions Court, which remanded him to police custody till November 7. So far, two people have been arrested in the case and the ANC continues to investigate the wider supply network.
To get details on exclusive and budget-friendly property deals in Mumbai & surrounding regions, do visit: https://budgetproperties.in/
