NCB secures warrant for arresting Dawood’s brother Iqbal Kaskar in drugs case

The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) has secured production warrant for arresting Iqbal Kaskar, brother of fugitive gangster Dawood Ibrahim Kaskar, in connection with seizure of a large quantity of hashish which originated from Jammu and Kashmir

The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) has secured production warrant for arresting Iqbal Kaskar, brother of fugitive gangster Dawood Ibrahim Kaskar, in connection with seizure of a large quantity of hashish which originated from Jammu and Kashmir.

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NCB will take Iqbal’s custody from Thane central jail, where he is lodged currently, on Thursday, said NCB zonal director Sameer Wankhede.

The agency had on June 15 arrested seven persons from Mumbai and Thane and seized 17.3 kilograms of charas worth ₹9 crore from them. Preliminary probe revealed that two of the arrested accused had travelled from Punjab to Mumbai on bikes, carrying the contraband in backpacks.

NCB officials said, during the course of investigation, they found out the role played by Kaskar and some other gangsters in the drug trafficking racket. They are also investigating terror angle in the drug supply, as hashish generally comes from Kashmir and lands in bulk in Punjab, from where it is sent mostly to Mumbai, Pune. other metro cities, and Goa.

Kaskar, deported from the United Arab Emirates in 2003, was said to be operating Dawood’s real estate business in Mumbai and surrounding areas, the police said. On September 18, the Thane anti-extortion cell had arrested him along with two of his accomplices — Mumtaz Shaikh and Israel Sayyed — for allegedly extorting ₹30 lakh from a Thane-based builder.

One more accused Pankaj Hangar, 54, a gambling den owner, was arrested in the case subsequently, as police found he was in touch with Kaskar and Shakeel, a Dawood henchman.

On October 11, Thane police slapped stringent provisions of the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) on the seven accused, including the four arrested and three wanted — Chotta Shakeel and two Dawood gang shooters, Shammi and Guddu.

Thane police later found that Kaskar, Sayyed and Shaikh had allegedly extorted gold from a jewellery shop owner. Eventually, Thane police registered two more cases against the gang and Kaskar has been named in all. His brother Dawood has also been named as a prime accused in one of three cases.