Aide of former cop among 2 held for supplying drugs

The Maharashtra anti-terrorism squad (ATS) on Friday arrested two persons, including a close aide of a former encounter specialist, who are suspected of being wholesalers

The Maharashtra anti-terrorism squad (ATS) on Friday arrested two persons, including a close aide of a former encounter specialist, who are suspected of being wholesalers of mephedrone in the city.

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The arrested accused have been identified as Avesh Khan, 35, and Tanveer Abdul Aziz Priyani alias Tarkari, 45.

Earlier this month, the ATS had raided a laboratory allegedly producing mephedrone in Panvel, and seized 129kg of the drug, worth ₹53 crore. A total of nine persons were arrested. Khan and Priyani were arrested based on the interrogation of the arrested nine. According to police sources, Priyani was a close aide of a retired encounter specialist, owned a fleet of cars and only wore designer clothes and shoes. “Priyani was one of the key persons who played a vital role in the arrest of Dawood Ibrahim’s brother Iqbal Kaskar,” said a senior IPS officer, requesting anonymity.

The others arrested in the case include Naresh Maskar, 45 and Jitendra Parmar alias Asif, 45, who ran the Panvel lab. The others have been identified as Abdul Razzak Kadar Shaikh, 47, Irfan Badar Shaikh, 43, Suleman Jauhar Shaikh, 28, Zuber Momin, 33, Mohammad Salim Abdul Hamid Mer, 37, Kais Siddhique, 34, and Sardar Patil, 28. Maskar and Parmar were both in touch with Khan and Priyani, said police.