Thane ephedrine haul: Key supplier held

THANE: In the Rs 2,000-crore ephedrine drug haul case, the Thane police on Monday arrested another person, the key supplier from Bangalore.

THANE: In the Rs 2,000-crore ephedrine drug haul case, the Thane police on Monday arrested another person, the key supplier from Bangalore.

HT Image

According to the police, the arrested accused, Sushil Kumar Assikanan, 34, a Panvel resident, has been on the run since April 13, when a raid was conducted at Solapur-based Avon Pharma Life Science Private Ltd. He was caught in Bangalore, where he had come to meet his friend to get financial help.

While Assikanan was detained on Sunday, he was arrested the next day, said the police, adding that the accused had filed an anticipatory bail plea, which was rejected by the court last month.

“After his bail plea was rejected, we alerted our informers, who told us about his exact location. We kept a close watch on him for three days and finally took him into custody on Sunday. We then brought him to Thane and arrested him after thorough investigation,” said sub-inspector Amol Walzade of the Thane anti-narcotics cell.

During investigation, the police found that he was to fly to Dubai and a few of his Bangalore friends were to fund his trip.

Assikanan had supplied 180kgs of ephedrine here in the past. “He is the main link in the supply chain that provides drugs to locals, especially Nigerians in Thane, Mumbai and Navi Mumbai. He had also supplied drugs to other parts of the country,” said Bharat Shelkhe, additional commissioner of crime, Thane.

According to Shelkhe, “As Assikanan owns a shipping agency, he used to supply drugs and also knew his way around customs clearances.”

Assikanan, the 11th accused in the drug haul case, has been remanded in police custody until August 31.