Thane crime branch seizes 3kg MD from grocery store

Thane police Crime Branch arrests man with 3kg mephedrone worth ₹4.5 crore from grocery store in Kalyan. Accused remanded into custody, investigation ongoing.

KALYAN: The Kalyan unit of the Thane police Crime Branch on Friday arrested a man and seized 3kg mephedrone or MD worth ₹4.5 crore from his grocery store at Nevali Naka in Ambernath Taluka.

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The crime branch officials said that the arrested accused, identified as Rajesh Kumar Premchand Tiwari, 41, who runs the Gayatri Kirana store and lived with his wife and children for several years at Newali Naka in Ambernath. Police have also arrested one more accused, identified as Shailendra Rakesh Ahirwar.

The police conducted a raid at a grocery store following a tip-off from a reliable source, according to official reports. The information suggested that a shopkeeper at the Kirana shop was involved in drug sales. Acting on instructions from a senior officer, Senior Inspector Naresh Pawar of the Kalyan Crime Branch formed a team and executed the raid on May 3. During the operation, they seized 3.6 kg of mephedrone valued at approximately ₹4.5 crore.

The complaint was filed by Goraksh Shekde, a police constable from the Crime Branch. A case was registered against the accused under various sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act at the Hill-line police station.

Naresh Pawar, the senior police inspector of the Kalyan Crime Branch, said, “The accused, Tiwari, was produced in court and remanded into police custody until May 7. Ahirwar will be brought before the court on Sunday, and we will request his police custody remand from the court.”

Pawar further added that they are endeavoring to ascertain from Tiwari the source of this contraband and the duration of this illicit business operating from the kirana shop. He expressed hope that they would succeed in disrupting the drug syndicate chain.