777 kg of drugs worth ₹25-cr seized this year, 97 arrested

Mumbai police's Anti-Narcotics Cell seized narcotics worth more than ?25 crore and arrested 97 persons in the last six months, including eight African nationals. The seized drugs included mephedrone, syrup bottles, LSD, hydroponic weed, charas, and heroin, and were seized from various parts of the city. The investigation revealed links to drug-supplying cartels from Gujarat, Bihar, Hyderabad, Karnataka, and Himachal Pradesh.

Mumbai: In the last six months, the Anti-Narcotics Cell (ANC) of the Mumbai police have seized narcotics worth 777 kilograms, worth more than ₹25 crore and arrested 97 persons for possession of contraband, officials confirmed on Sunday.

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The seizure of mephedrone alone was worth ₹15.93 crore, while the rest of the substances included syrup bottles, LSD, hydroponic weed, charas and heroin, an official said.

Of the arrested accused, 38 were allegedly “prime offenders” from whom drugs worth ₹19.11 crore were seized and 17 cases were registered against them, a police official said.

An official said the investigation into these cases revealed that the accused allegedly had links to drug-supplying cartels from Gujarat, Bihar, Hyderabad, Karnataka and Himachal Pradesh. The arrested accused included eight African nationals, he added.

In several cases, provisions of the Narcotic Drug and Psychotropic Substances Act were applied.

The banned substances were seized from different parts of the city, including Bandra, Mahim, Bandra-Kurla Complex and Byculla, the official said. “As many as 97 people were arrested by the agency in 56 cases, and 777 kg of drugs worth ₹25.40 crore were seized from them so far this year,” he added.

The ANC cracked down upon major drug-trafficking gangs in Mumbai in the last six months, seizing drugs worth more than 19 crore from them and arresting 38.