Thane drug haul case: Trio transferred crores using hawala

The three accused in the Thane ephedrine haul case -- Jay Mukhi, Kishoresingh Rathod and Vicky Goswami – carried out hawala transactions worth crores, the police said on Wednesday.

The three accused in the Thane ephedrine haul case -- Jay Mukhi, Kishoresingh Rathod and Vicky Goswami – carried out hawala transactions worth crores, the police said on Wednesday.

Mukhi was arrested from Uttar Pradesh on May 30 and is in the custody of Thane police. Rathod, businessman and son of Gujarat MLA Bhavsingh Rathod, and druglord Goswami are absconding.

Bharat Shelkhe, additional commissioner of police, Thane, said, “We have got WhatsApp data which show Mukhi was in touch with Rathod and Goswami. On getting money through hawala, Mukhi used to get in touch with angadiyas. The angadiyas used to take down the serial number of Rs5 and Rs10 notes that were to be transported and carry out the operation.”

Shelkhe said, “We also found they had transported 10 tonnes of rice and sugar to Kenya via airways and waterways over the past couple of years. The rice and sugar gunny bags were used to supply ephedrine drug packets in it.”

Another police officer said, “The America police are also investigating the case. They too confirmed the Whatsapp exchanges between the trio.”

Amol Walzade, inspector, anti-narcotics cell, Thane, said, “We have field a charge sheet. We are also looking for Rathod. He has not contacted his family yet. In January, Mukhi and Rathod had gone to meet Goswami. They took Manoj Jain along. On that day, they transferred Rs3 crore within three hours.”