Key accused in ₹252-cr Sangli drugs bust deported from UAE

Kubbawala got involved in the drug trade a decade ago, and for five to six years was operating Salim Dola’s syndicate in Mumbai and suburbs. He used to supply the materials required for the manufacture of MD from Surat and personally transport the contraband manufactured at their Sangli unit and deliver it to point persons at the distribution point in Mira Road

MUMBAI: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Friday got Mustafa Mohammed Kubbawala, 44, a key accused in a ₹252-crore synthetic drugs bust, deported from the United Arab Emirates (UAE), with the help of Interpol and authorities based in the UAE. A resident of Surat, Kubbawala was wanted by the Mumbai police in an illegal mephedrone factory bust in Sangli district, Maharashtra.

Key accused in ₹252-cr Sangli drugs bust deported from UAE

In March last year, police stormed the factory, in Kavthe Mahankal in Sangli, and seized 126.14kg of mephedrone, commonly known as ‘MD’ valued at around ₹252 crore. The illegal facility was controlled by alleged drug lord Salim Dola and his son Taher. Kubbawala, son of Salim’s sister, was charge sheeted in the case and the trial court had issued an arrest warrant against him.

Kubbawala was found to be in the UAE by Interpol and the National Central Bureau-Abu Dhabi, officials said. He was apprehended on the basis of a pending Red Corner Notice (RCN) against him. RCNs issued via Interpol allow for the arrest or detention of fugitives in member countries pending extradition or deportation. The RCN was issued against Kubbawala after the Mumbai crime branch made the drugs bust in Sangli last year.

“The International Police Cooperation Unit of the CBI, in collaboration with the NCB-Abu Dhabi, brought Kubbawala back to India on Friday,” the official said. A four-member team of the Mumbai police had gone to Dubai, on July 7, to bring him back.

Kubbawala was arrested in Dubai on May 18, two days before Salim’s son, Taher Dola, was apprehended by the NCB-Abu Dhabi. Taher was brought back to India on June 13 and is currently in judicial custody, said a police officer.

A four-member team of the Mumbai crime branch, comprising assistant commissioner of police Chandrakant Jadhav, police inspector Arun Thorat and two head constables went to the UAE on Tuesday, and with the help of the International Police Cooperation Unit of the CBI, brought Kubbawala to Mumbai on Friday.

According to the police, Kubbawala became involved in the drugs trade a decade ago and, for the last five to six years, has been operating in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region and helping Salim Dola to run his syndicate. A senior police officer said he used to supply raw materials required for the manufacture of MD from Surat to Pravin aka Nagesh Ramchandra Shinde, who oversaw production at the Sangli factory. He was assisted in the procurement of raw materials by Ijaj Ali Imdad Ali Ansari and Adil Imtiyaz Vohara, both Surat residents who were arrested in the case earlier.

Kubbawala, the police said, would personally transport the contraband manufactured at the Sangli unit to their distribution point in Mira Road, where he used to deliver it to their points-person, Sajid Mohammad Asif Shaikh alias Dabs, 25. Kubbawala transported the drugs to Dabs in Mercedes or BMWs, and the latter then used his network of drug peddlers to supply it to consumers.

Kubbawala would also collect money from Dabs once the contraband was sold and send it to Dubai through hawala channels, said a police officer. He added that the 44-year-old mostly stayed in Surat and visited Mumbai and MMR only whenever required. He fled to the UAE after the Sangli factory bust.

Unit 7 of the crime branch has arrested a total 13 accused, including a woman, in the case so far.