Gujarat ATS seize drugs worth ₹800 crore from Bhiwandi

Gujarat ATS seizes liquid drugs worth ₹800 crore in Bhiwandi raids, arrests two accused. Thane and Mumbai police unaware of illegal activities.

THANE: The Gujarat Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) seized liquid drugs worth ₹800 crore following raids in Bhiwandi on August 5 and 6 and nabbed two accused. The stock was kept in a flat in Nadi Naka, Bhiwandi. Curiously, both Thane and Mumbai police were unaware of the illegal activities in the area.

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According to a press note released by Gujarat police on Wednesday, the ATS team had raided a location in Kareli Village, Palsana taluka, Gujarat on July 18, and recovered 4 kilograms of powder mephedrone and 31.409 kilograms of liquid mephedrone, valued at ₹51 crore.

Three people were arrested, who subsequently revealed the involvement of two others -- identified as brothers Mohammad Yunus and Mohammed Adil. Investigations revealed that Yunus lived in Chinchpada, Dongri, while Adil was located in Nadi Naka, Bhiwandi, where he produced mephedrone.

On August 5, P T H Panara and his team raided the accused’s Bhiwandi flat and recovered 782.263 kilograms of the substance in liquid form, and found 10 kilograms of mephedrone in the process of being prepared. The team seized all the equipment that was being used to produce the drug.

Probe revealed that Yunus was also involved in smuggling electronic equipment and gold from Dubai. The brothers had visited Dubai in the past where they came in touch with an unidentified individual who facilitated their involvement in the drug production. Once back in Mumbai, they rented a flat in a sparsely populated area of Bhiwandi around seven months ago and started the operations. While Yunus and Adil have been arrested, their third accomplice is at large.

An officer from the ATS team said: “Our team of officers is investigating the sources of their materials and determining the buyers and the prices at which the drugs were sold.”