In a major drug haul in the city, the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) has seized drugs worth crores in pan-India operations with Mumbai emerging as the common link.
The noteworthy operation was conducted at Palghar near Mumbai which is linked to the case linked with the death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput. “The Mumbai zonal unit has seized 1 kilogram of cocaine, two kilograms of P.C.P. (Phencyclidine) from one M. Ahmed from Vasai, Palghar. During interrogation, Ahmed revealed that the contraband has been provided by one S.K. Saurabh for further selling,” said an NCB officer. “NCB team developed intelligence and on the basis of manual intelligence and technical surveillance, apprehended Saurabh on Tuesday from Vasai. The sustained interrogation of Saurabh resulted in the further recovery of 29.300 kg of MDA from his shop/godown on Wednesday.”
The questioning of Saurabh further revealed that the drugs belonged to brothers– A. Khanivadekar and R. Khanivadekar. NCB has apprehended A. Khanivadekar who is being interrogated. During interrogation, he revealed that his brother R. Khanivadekar is accused in a case registered by the directorate of revenue intelligence (DRI) case of 483 kilograms of Ephidrine and is on bail.
The investigations revealed that before the DRI raid, the accused had shifted the contrabands to the shop/godown of Saurabh. “We have found common links between the accused arrested in Palghar and those arrested in the case linked with the death of the actor. The drugs are worth Rs 9 crore in illicit market” said a high-ranking officer. NCB Mumbai's zonal director Sameer Wankhede and his team have made twenty arrests in the case linked with the death of the actor till now which include alleged drug peddlers.
“Metro cities of India serve as the prime destination for various contrabands. NCB in synchronised operations at Mumbai and its connections with the rest of India has made various seizures and arrests which are having ramifications on the narcotics supply chain,” said the officer.
In another operation at Jammu, the agency seized 56.4 kilograms of Charas concealed in 55 packets at Ban Toll Plaza, Nagrota, Jammu on Thursday and apprehended M. Gupta, A. Gambir, and Sonia. The Charas was destined for Mumbai. Based on their inputs, the agency arrested the main accused in the case Faruk Chandbadhsah Shaikh, 40, a Byculla resident from Mumbai-Pune highway along with his accomplice Kurban Ali.
In another operation, the agency apprehended one Pradeep Rajaram Sahni with 70 grams of Mephedrone in Andheri (west). “Pradeep had disclosed that he used to supply Mephedrone to various persons in the Andheri and Juhu Area. He was employed as peon/runner with Balaji Telefilms private limited through a third party. The further distribution network of Sahni is being investigated,” the agency said following the operation.
Similarly, NCB arrested one Nigerian national namely Uka Emeka alias Godwin in which four grams of cocaine has been recovered from him. The seized drug originated from a South American country and the drug trafficker is suspected to be delivering the contraband in plush areas of Pali Hill Area, Bandra, Andheri, Juhu, and Khar.
