10,000 sq ft illegal property of Vikhroli drug peddler razed

According to police, the accused, Mohammad Tasvar Yasin Qureshi alias Tasu, 48, had already been externed for 18 months from Mumbai, Navi Mumbai and Thane

MUMBAI: Police have demolished a 10,000 sq ft illegal property linked to an alleged drug peddler in Vikhroli, in what police described as part of a wider crackdown following the NESCO overdose case. The razed premises in Tagore Nagar included the accused’s residence, a gym and multiple commercial units, police said.

10,000 sq ft illegal property of Vikhroli drug peddler razed

According to police, the accused, Mohammad Tasvar Yasin Qureshi alias Tasu, 48, had already been externed for 18 months from Mumbai, Navi Mumbai and Thane.

Qureshi allegedly faces multiple cases, of which two are under the Maharashtra Prevention of Gambling Act, three are related to rioting and unlawful assembly, two are under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, and one molestation case.

“The cases were registered when people opposed his activities of selling drugs illegally in the Vikhroli area. He has several youths through whom he used to sell drugs in the area and has avoided cases as the cops could not reach him,” said a police officer.

Police added that the accused had built an illegal 5,000 sq ft house along with commercial tenements spanning another 5,000 sq ft. Both were ground-plus-three-storey structures. The demolition was allegedly carried out in coordination with the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA) , police said.

The action comes six days after two students from the Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies (JBIMS) died of a suspected overdose after consuming alcohol and ecstasy pills at a music concert on April 11, an incident that has prompted intensified enforcement against drug networks across the city.