Dongri police and Worli ANC seized drugs worth ₹13.20 crore

In two separate operations, Dongri police and the anti-narcotics cell (ANC) arrested three persons on Saturday and allegedly seized 25kg of mephedrone and 212gm of heroin, respectively, collectively worth ₹13

In two separate operations, Dongri police and the anti-narcotics cell (ANC) arrested three persons on Saturday and allegedly seized 25kg of mephedrone and 212gm of heroin, respectively, collectively worth ₹13.20 crore.

Shaikh had shifted to Hyderabad but visited Mumbai often to deal in drugs.

According to Dongri police, they received information that a drug peddler, Isaq Iqbal Hussain Sayyad, supplied mephedrone in south Mumbai. They then laid a trap on Friday and arrested him in Dongri, and found 12gm of mephedrone with him. After questioning Sayyad, they learnt about another supplier named Abdul Shaikh from whom he allegedly bought the drugs to sell.

On Saturday, Shaikh was arrested from a hotel in Vashi, and police allegedly recovered 56gm mephedrone from him.

Shaikh had shifted to Hyderabad but visited Mumbai often to deal in drugs, said Prakash Linge, assistant inspector, Dongri police station.

Shaikh then revealed the name of another supplier Deepak Bangera, a resident of Ghatkopar. Officers arrested Bangera, and during the search, they allegedly seized 25kg of mephedrone worth ₹12.50 crore and ₹5 lakh from his residence, stated a press release issued by Dongri police. Shaikh and Bangera were produced in court and are in police custody.

In the second operation, the Worli unit of ANC on Saturday identified Arbaz Rafiq Shaikh, 26, a resident of Bandra (West) as a suspected drug dealer, based on a tip-off. Shaikh was waiting for someone outside Ayesha Hotel near Bandra bus depot when an ANC officer intercepted him.

During the search, they found a small bag containing 212gm of heroin worth ₹63.60 lakh. Shaikh confessed that he had been supplying drugs for six months. He was arrested under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act and remanded in police custody till February 25, said Datta Nalawade, deputy commissioner of police (ANC).