NCB arrests Bhiwandi jeweller for financing production of MD

The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) on Friday arrested a jeweller from Bhiwandi for allegedly financing the manufacturing of mephedrone (MD), and also seized commercial quantity of the contraband from his shop. The agency was conducting searches at the jeweller’s home at the time of going to print.

“Once the searches are over, we will reveal the actual quantity of drugs seized,” said NCB zonal director Sameer Wankhede.

He said the jeweller’s name, which officers did not reveal, cropped up during the interrogation of Parvez Khan alias Chinku Pathan and disk jockey (DJ) Rohit Verma alias Rahul Verma, both of whom have been arrested by the agency in a drugs case. The jeweller used to finance Pathan and Verma, Wankhede added.

NCB has found a recent transaction of around ₹20 lakh transferred by the jeweller to Verma. There are several other transactions between them, which are being verified, Wankhede added.

The jeweller will be produced in court on Sunday.

The agency is also looking for another accused, Arif Bhujwala, who calls himself the new Pablo Escobar – the notorious Colombian drug lord. The officer said Bhujwala came in contact with Pathan for drug manufacturing but soon developed new acquaintances in Dubai and started a laboratory to produce MD on the fourth floor of Noor Manzil building in Dongri. He lived in the same building on the fifth floor. Bhujwala spent huge sums on purchasing high-end cars and properties worth more than ₹10 crore in south Mumbai, said the officer.

He has installed biometric system at his door and multiple CCTV cameras in and around his house to keep an eye on law enforcement agencies. His gang members used to monitor movement of people in the entire area and that was how he managed to evade arrest. NCB suspects that Bhujwala escaped from back door, when a team reached the building.

NCB is also conducting raids at multiple places in Pune, as the agency has identified a person who used supply MD to Pathan