Cops arrest two with 3 AK-47s, drugs, ₹80 lakh

Police on Sunday arrested two people with arms and contraband worth around ₹14 crore. The two have been charged under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances

Police on Sunday arrested two people with arms and contraband worth around ₹14 crore. The two have been charged under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985, and Arms Act, and have been remanded in police custody till October 10. The police suspect they may be part of an inter-state gang.

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Following a tip-off, Manor Police laid a trap at a highway dhaba on the Maharashtra-Gujarat border, on Sunday evening. The accused came in a SUV to the dhaba at Chilar Phata, near Boisar, on Sunday evening. “We formed a team and surrounded the two accused who were taken by surprise,” said assistant police inspector Pratap Darade. “They were carrying two gunny bags that contained the arms and the drugs to be sold to some clients in Mumbai.”

The police seized at least three AK-47s, four revolvers, 63 rounds of bullets, pistols, ₹80 lakh in cash and drugs estimated to be worth around ₹14 crore. The haul includes 8.9 kilograms (kg) of ephedrine, 8.5kg of dimethyltryptamine (DMT), 500 grams (gms) of heroin and 3.9kg of a combination drug known as “dodo” (a combination of diclofenac and paracetamol and/or acetaminophen), said inspector Jitendra Vankoti, of the local crime branch, Palghar.

Superintendent of police Gaurav Singh said the police suspected there are more people involved.

“This is one of the major drugs and arms hauls in Palghar district,” said Singh. The police are probing where the drugs were manufactured as well as to whom the drugs and arms were to be sold. Singh said that with Assembly elections round the corner, the police were probing all angles and not ruling out the possibility of the accused being involved in terror plot.