In a crackdown against drug peddlers, the city Crime Branch unit XI has arrested two more drug peddlers on Thursday, taking the count of drug peddlers arrested in last seven days to 15.
Niketan alias Golu Jadhav, 30, and Parvez alias Laddu Hanif Halai, 30, were held and mephedron (MD) worth Rs 3.15 lakh were seized from them.
Acting on a tip-off Crime Branch unit XI laid a trap at Rajendra Nagar in Borivali and arrested Niketan and seized 105 gram of Mephedron (MD). According to the police both the accused were history sheeters with multiple offences registered against them.
The investigation revealed that Niketan works as an assistant make-up artist in Bollywood and he has worked with various big production houses and banners. He has also worked for international reality shows, said a crime branch officer. While being active in Bollywood he learnt about drugs trafficking and about the huge profit earned from peddling. He then entered the drugs peddling racket, said a crime branch officer.
Niketan has atleast seven offences registered against him at various police stations in Western suburbs including an attempt to murder case. He was previously externed from city limit for a year by the Borivali police station. Halai has two offences registered against him and currently out on bail.
After the lockdown was imposed in the city in March, peddling activities were reduced heavily due to restrictions on movements. As lockdown was prolonged many peddlers were forced to even sell cigarettes to make end meets. As the restriction began to ease down, peddling activities have started again but they are still at a fraction of what they once used to be. Most peddlers are currently relying on synthetic drugs as supply chain for cocaine and MDMA are still not activated due to suspended foreign travel.
