Mumbai cops seize drugs worth Rs 1,403 cr from Palghar town

Mumbai, Aug 4 (IANS) In a major haul, the Mumbai Police' Anti Narcotics Cell (ANC) has made drug seizures worth a stupendous Rs 1,403-crore from Nala Sopara town in Palghar district, which borders Gujarat state, officials said here on Thursday.

The ANC nabbed a person with the 702 kgs of Mephedrone from Sitaram Building in Chakradhar Nagar area of Nala Sopara on Wednesday night worth a total of Rs 1,403.5 crore, and arrested two suppliers.

The latest drugs haul became possible after the interrogation of two other drug peddlers plus a woman, who were nabbed by the ANC on March 29 from Govandi in north-east Mumbai.

Of the arrested trio, one was caught with 250 gms Mephedrone valued at Rs 37.50 lakh and the other with 2.70 kgs of Mephedrone worth Rs 4.14 crore in the market.

After sustained interrogation, the woman accused revealed details on their two associates of whom one was picked up late on Tuesday (August 2) and the fifth was caught with the narcotics consignment on Wednesday (August 3).

The ANC said that among the accused are a couple of qualified chemists with knowledge of organic chemistry required to produce the Mephedrone drugs which are much in demand.

The woman accused along with the others kept their identity secret and sought clients on social media and supplied the drugs to their clientele in different parts of Mumbai and surroundings.

The teams which cracked one of the biggest narcotics supply racket comprised police officials like Inspector Sandeep Kale, guided by ACP Savlaram Agavale, DCP Datta Nalawade, Additional Police Commissioner Viresh Prabhu, Joint Police Commissioner Suhas Warke and Police Commissioner Vivek Phansalkar along with the field teams of ANC Worli Unit.

While three accused arrested in March are in judicial custody, the two others nabbed on Wednesday have been sent to police custody, said Kale.

Further investigations are on in the sensational case to trace the source of the drugs, other hidden players and their links with the narcotics mafia after the seizure of the drugs totally valued at Rs 1,408-crore in two inter-connected operations carried out in four months.