NCB nabs man with cannabis worth ₹40 lakh hidden in car from Thane

The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) arrested an alleged drug supplier, Jaybharat Rathod, and recovered 28kg of cannabis worth ₹40 lakh from his car

The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) arrested an alleged drug supplier, Jaybharat Rathod, and recovered 28kg of cannabis worth ₹40 lakh from his car. The alleged main supplier, Sunil Bhandari, is a wanted in the case and he and Rathod have been supplying drugs from more than five years and brought the cannabis from Orissa to supply in Thane and Mumbai, said NCB.

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“On the basis of specific information, a team of NCB officers laid a trap in Badlapur, Thane, on Sunday morning and nabbed Rathod. On searching him, NCB officers found five packets containing cannabis, wrapped in a plastic tape and concealed under the bonnet. On searching further, the officers found that the accused had made a cavity in the rear side of the vehicle, where he had hidden additional nine packets of cannabis,” said NCB’s zonal director Sameer Wankhede. Each of the packets contained 2kg each of cannabis.

During interrogation, Rathod confessed that he is a peddler and the main supplier is Bhandari, who gave him the contraband to distribute to small peddlers in Thane and Mumbai, said Wankhede.

NCB has been conducting a continuous operation against drug suppliers and peddlers in Mumbai and its neighbouring areas. On April 21, the agency had raided multiple places in Mumbai and arrested three persons, including a Cameroon national and a wanted drug supplier Sabir Saukat Ali, from Nallasopara and allegedly seized an intermediate quality of mephedrone, 20 ecstasy tablets and ₹9.25 lakh from them.