One more arrest in MD case; drugs were delivered via courier

The new trend in this trade is distribution of contraband through courier delivery boys and delivery boys of online food aggregators, the police officials said

Amid investigation into the recent drug bust, the anti-narcotics cell (ANC) of the city police on Monday made yet another arrest, leading probe officials to believe that the accused were delivering drugs at desired location/s using courier aggregator services. In the latest arrest, the accused identified as Vishwanath Konapure, 46, from Solapur district, was working as a delivery boy with a private courier aggregator.

The arrested accused were produced before a court which has remanded them to police custody till August 16. (REPRESENTATIVE PIC)

Senior police inspector Ulhas Kadam said, “The accused Konapure was initially working with a private courier aggregator platform where he came in contact with the arrested accused in this case. In the initial days, he delivered drugs. Later, he quit his job and started working with them. The arrested accused were produced before a court which has remanded them to police custody till August 16.”

The new trend in this trade is distribution of contraband through courier delivery boys and delivery boys of online food aggregators, the police officials said. Such persons get easy access to housing societies and no one questions them about the product that is delivered, they said. Online delivery is preferred by many people as it is quick and affordable but some people are misusing the service and it is the moral responsibility of such companies to check the items delivered, the police said.

However, this is not the first time that drugs have been delivered via online delivery systems in Pune. In June 2023, the crime branch unit had arrested five accused for illegally supplying drugs in Kothrud. The accused had called a supplier from Pimpri-Chinchwad to supply drugs in Kothrud. The supplier had booked the services of a private company which picks up and delivers packages within the city. The drugs were supplied through a delivery executive of the company. Following the crackdown, the police apprehended the said delivery executive and came to know that the parcel was picked up from a lodge in Pimpri-Chinchwad

In the instant case, the ANC of the city police on Saturday arrested three persons and seized narcotic Mephedrone (MD) worth ₹1 crore from their possession from an apartment in Tingre Nagar. Earlier, the police arrested Shrinivas Santosh Godje, Rohit Shantaram Bende, and Nimish Subhash Abnave based on a tipoff to the crime branch. The FIR was lodged at Vishrantwadi police station Friday night. The ANC claimed that during a raid, 471 gm MD along with four cell phones, two electronic weighing machines, a two-wheeler, a car, and other items - all worth ₹1.89 crore were seized from the trio. The police have booked all the accused under sections of the Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act. The police are investigating to know where the accused persons sourced the MD and whom the contraband was meant for.