Heroin worth ₹34cr seized in Kalyan; international drug kingpin among five held

The operation began on April 1 when an anti-drug squad led by PSI Anil Gaikwad was patrolling near Kalyan railway station around 7am

THANE: In what police officials claim to be one of the biggest anti-drug crackdowns in the Thane region, Kalyan’s Mahatma Phule police seized nearly 10 kg of heroin worth ₹34.18 crore and arrested five accused, including alleged international drug kingpin Amzad Yusuf Pathan.

Heroin worth ₹34cr seized in Kalyan; international drug kingpin among five held

The operation began on April 1 when an anti-drug squad led by PSI Anil Gaikwad was patrolling near Kalyan railway station around 7am. During the patrol, the team intercepted two suspects, identified as Quasim Abdul Sattar Vasaikar, 38 from Shahapur and Krishna Nagappa Halemani, 36, from Mumbai’s Pratiksha Nagar. The duo were allegedly moving suspiciously with bags.

When questioned, the two allegedly tried to flee but were caught by the police. A search of the bags led to the recovery of 9.236 kg of heroin worth ₹32.32 crore, following which both were arrested under provisions of the NDPS Act.

Police later raided Quasim’s residence in Shahapur and allegedly recovered another 531 gm of heroin worth ₹1.85 crore.

During interrogation, Quasim allegedly confessed that the consignment had been supplied by Amzad Pathan, 47, an alleged international drug operator and history-sheeter who had been externed from Kalyan in a murder case and was allegedly operating from Igatpuri in Nashik district after releasing on bail.

Police said Pathan allegedly supplied the drugs to Ganesan Putthuswami Jangmar alias Anna, 71, who was arrested on April 5. Another accused, Saddam Gafur Sheikh, 32, from Kalyan, allegedly worked as a supplier in the network and was arrested on April 6.

Sanjay Jadhav, additional commissioner of police, east region, said police teams under DCP Atul Zende tracked down and arrested Pathan from Igatpuri on Thursday.

“There are 20 criminal cases registered against Amzad at police stations in Kalyan, Thane, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, mostly related to narcotics offences, apart from three murder cases. There are also two cases registered against him under the MCOCA Act,” Jadhav said

DCP Atul Zende said Pathan had allegedly been running the network for decades and sourced drugs from Rajasthan before routing them through Nashik, Kalyan and Thane to Mumbai.

“Amzad had been absconding for the past two years. After his arrest, the court remanded him to 10 days of police custody. Further investigation is underway to identify other members of the network and their involvement in the racket,” Zende added.