The Mumbai Police arrested gangster Ejaz Lakdawala’s cousin, Nadeem Abdul Sattar Lakdawala, 49, at Mumbai international airport on Saturday. Police said, Nadeem was wanted in an extortion case registered by a real estate developer and was arrested as soon as his an international flight landed in the city.
On January 6, a Bandra-based real estate developer had approached the Anti Extortion Cell to lodge a complaint against notorious gangster Ejaz Lakdawala and his aides, who had allegedly demanded an extortion of Rs1 crore. Accordingly, a parallel probe was initiated by the Mumbai Police's Crime Branch, who nabbed Ejaz from Patna, Bihar two days later.
During the questioning, Ejaz had spilled the beans about his accomplices, Tariq Parveen and Salim Penwala, along with his cousin, Nadeem Lakdawala, who was involved in the extortion racket using Ejaz's gangster threat. The Crime Branch swung into action and launched a massive search for Nadeem, only to realise that he was settled in a foreign country. Accordingly, police issued a lookout circular against Nadeem to nab him the moment he arrived in India.
On Saturday, police got a tip-off that Nadeem was to arrive at the international airport and a trap was laid. Later at night, Nadeem was arrested and booked under relevant IPC sections for extortion (387), criminal conspiracy (120B) among others.
Probe revealed Nadeem played a middleman and fixed meetings in Dubai, wherein Ejaz met victims for negotiation. On Sunday, Nadeem was produced in a local court, which sent him to police custody till March 3, said police. The Lakdawala brothers, Parveen and Penwala were already wanted in 7 extortion cases.
