Engineer caught smuggling charas

Three persons, one of whom is a mechanical engineer, was arrested by the Anti-Narcotics Cell (ANC) of the Mumbai police on Friday for bringing in charas from Himachal Pradesh and selling it at high price in Mumbai.

Three persons, one of whom is a mechanical engineer, was arrested by the Anti-Narcotics Cell (ANC) of the Mumbai police on Friday for bringing in charas from Himachal Pradesh and selling it at high price in Mumbai.

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Amit Manohar Lotlikar, 32, (the engineer), residing at Dadar, got the idea after he visited Himachal during a trek a few months ago and became acquainted with another regular trekker Kiran Bhagwan Sasane, from Goregaon. The duo befriended a waiter Lalit Kumar alias Lucky Hira Lal Thakur, 21, at the hotel they were staying at.

According to the police, they received a tip-off that three persons with charas were to meet near Ekvira Apartments in Dadar. The ANC officers laid a trap and arrested the trio. The officers seized 4 kg charas from their possession, worth Rs 3.2 lakh in the market.

During the course of investigation, the trio told police they were aware that charas in Himachal was not only cheaper, but was also of the finest quality and hence decided to start a business. Thakur’s job would be to purchase charas from Himachal, as he was well acquainted with the area. He would then bring it to Mumbai and hand it over to Lotlikar and Sasane who would sell it at higher prices here. The profits would be distributed among the three, police said.