Pimpri-Chinchwad: In a series of coordinated raids conducted across the city on Tuesday (17th February), the Pimpri-Chinchwad Police successfully dismantled several drug peddling operations.
The local police stations and the city-wide operating Anti-Narcotics Cell of the Pimpri-Chinchwad Police Commissionerate’s (PCPC) Crime Branch seized over 18 kilograms of ganja and arrested multiple suspects -- all in one day.
The largest haul took place in the Bhosari area, where police intercepted a major consignment intended for local distribution.
The most significant action occurred near Govind Garden in Devkar Vasti, Bhosari. Pimpri-Chinchwad Police arrested 24-year-olds Vishal Ravan Mohite and Ganesh Baburao Thorat.
The duo was found in illegal possession of 16.12 kilograms of ganja worth approximately Rs 8.80 lakh. Following a complaint filed by Police Constable Ashok Mane, the Bhosari police have initiated a deep-dive investigation into the supply chain used by the suspects.
Both suspects are residents of Dighi, and they have been booked under sections 8c, 20b and 29 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act of 1985 (NDPS).
Simultaneously, the Anti-Narcotics Cell of the Crime Branch targeted the Bhat Nagar area of Pimpri, where they exposed a smuggling ring involving three women. During a raid in a building in Bhat Nagar, one woman was detained with 1.59 kilograms of ganja and a mobile phone, totalling a value of Rs 89,600.
The suspect revealed during interrogation that she had sourced the drugs from a female associate to distribute to another woman in the city. Even these women have been booked under sections 8c, 20b and 29 of the NDPS Act. These sections are for carrying narcotics with the intent to sell and collusion among the accused, says the law.
In a separate afternoon raid in the same neighbourhood, Pimpri police arrested 21-year-old Sunny Dharma Singh Machrekar, a native of Nashik. He was caught red-handed with 296 grams of ganja worth Rs 14,500 while waiting at a roadside to meet customers. He has been charged under the NDPS Act too and has been detained for further action, said police.
The crackdown extended to the Mhalunge area under the jurisdiction of the Bavdhan Police Station (under the Pimpri-Chinchwad Police Commissionerate). In this action, Pimpri-Chinchwad Police officials caught a 32-year-old man selling drugs within a labour camp.
The accused, Mohammad Sarfuddin Khalid, originally from Bihar, was apprehended at the Sahil Properties Labour Camp with ganja worth Rs 61,250. He has been booked under the NDPS Act, and further investigation is underway, noted officials from Bavdhan Police Station.
Across all four incidents, the police have registered formal complaints and are currently tracing the interstate links involved in these narcotics networks to prevent further distribution in the industrial belt.
