E-Paper
Pune MD drug case: What we know about mastermind Sandeep Dhunay
The Pune police have also sought details about his background from the prison department which includes his educational qualification and other personal details
Sandeep Dhunay (42), a British national of Indian origin from Patna (Bihar), kingpin and ring leader of ₹3,700 crore Pune Mephedrone (MD) drugs case used a secure calling app to keep in touch with the other accused to run the international drug trade from Pune.
Police suspect that Dhunay might have given work to chemical companies and laboratories in different parts of the country to manufacture MD drugs.
According to Pune police commissioner Amitesh Kumar, Dhunay was arrested by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) in a narcotics case related to Samartha Pharmaceuticals in 2016 after which he spent some time in jail and he walked out on bail last year.
The Pune police have also sought details about his background from the prison department which includes his educational qualification and other personal details.
Kumar said, “A red corner notice has been issued against him with the assistance of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and active help of other central agencies was being sought to nab the accused.”
According to Kumar, his last location was recorded in Kuwait after which he is reported to have gone underground following his name coming to the fore in the drugs bust case.
Dhunay walking out of jail it was he who assigned the task of ‘MD manufacturing’ to Yuvraj Bhujbal, a chemical expert in the company ‘Earthchem Laboratory Private Limited’.
He fled to Kathmandu in Nepal on January 30 where he tried to find a place to store the MD.
The MD stockpile which was seized from the south extension in Delhi by the Pune police was to be hidden in Nepal. From there the drug consignment was to be sent to London.
In the current case, police have arrested Vaibhav alias Pitya Bharat Mane (40) from Somwar Peth; Ajay Amarnath Karosia (35) from Navi Peth; Haidar Noor Sheikh (40) from Vishrantwadi; Bhimaji Parshuram Sabale (46) from Pune; Yuvraj Bhujbal (41) from Dombivali West Mumbai; Divesh Chiranjeet Bhutiya from New Delhi; Sandeep Rajpal Kumar from New Delhi; and Sandeep Hanumansingh Yadav from New Delhi. Foreign national of Indian origin Sam Brown is still at large.
On February 21, police raided a manufacturing unit Earth Chem Laboratories in Kupwad MIDC and seized over 150 kg of MD worth ₹300 crore and arrested Ayub Makandar (44).
Makadandar, Vipin Kumar, another accused in Samartha Pharmaceuticals in the 2016 case and Dhuniya were lodged in Yerawada Jail.
At that time accused Mane and Sheikh, came in contact with the other accused involved in the case. There he got to know and formed a new gang of drug racket.
Further crime branch probe has revealed that MD drugs were sent from India to London from food packets. These drugs were sent by courier on the plane. Investigation has revealed that these drugs have been sent to London in large quantities from Delhi during the past two and a half years.
Some of the accused in the case are still in jail and they are also being interrogated, said police.
Meanwhile, police said Dhunay and Sonam Pandit, Vipin’s wife, allegedly had an affair. She took the children and went to stay with Dhunay. At that time, Vipin’s father had complained to the Bihar police that his daughter-in-law and grandsons were kidnapped by Dhunay. Vipin’s father later committed suicide after the complaint was lodged.
A case has been registered against Dhunay in both of these incidents in Bihar.
He has also uploaded his profile on a matrimony site where he has listed his occupation as an engineer, said police.
