Mira Bhayander-Vasai Virar Commissioner of Police Madhukar Pandey told reporters that the busting of the racket with underworld connections also led to the seizure of four weapons and several live cartridges from one of the accused in Palghar.
The seizures include mephedrone medicines, raw materials and other items such as vehicles from factories in UP, Telangana, and cash from Gujarat.
Eight of the accused are from Uttar Prades, three from Telangana and three from Maharashtra, and one from Gujarat, Pandey said.
The lid on the scandal burst when police launched an investigation on May 15 after intercepting two people in Vasai (Palghar) town at a check post in Chenagaon (Thane) and seizing 1 kg of mephedrone worth 2 million from them. of rupees.
His prolonged interrogation led to unraveling the tentacles of massive fraud spread in other states where police teams rushed to investigate.
One of the teams raided a factory at Narsapur in Telangana on May 17, seizing 103 grams of MD worth Rs 20.60 lakh and another 25 kg of raw materials worth Rs 25 crore, besides arresting two persons .
The interrogation led police to an associate in the Mumbai suburb of Goregaon and the seizure of MDs worth Rs 14.38 crore, besides the arrest of another person from Varanasi.
The combined probe continued with the raid landing on one person in Padgha village in Thane, leading to seizure of raw materials worth nearly Rs 54,000.
Pandey said investigation teams found that a person from Mumbai, who is still at large, had allegedly transferred funds for drug manufacturing through an associate in Surat.
The other person was caught in Surat along with Rs 10.90 lakh in cash, which was sent through traditional personal couriers called 'Angadiyas'.
Accordingly, the police turned their investigations to a couple from Angadiyas in south Mumbai, from whom they seized Rs 6,80,000 given to them by the accused from Surat.
The investigation led to the detection of an MD manufacturing unit in Jaunpur, UP, where police seized 300 kg of raw materials worth Rs 300 crore and nabbed three more people on June 25, followed by three more arrests. in Lucknow on June 25. 26.
They informed the police about another associate operating from Nala Sopara in Palghar, from whom the police recovered a revolver, 3 pistols and 33 bullets, Pandey said.
The defendants arrested in the entire scam over the past few months are . Memon and Nicholas L. Tritus (both of Vasai in Palghar); Dayanand M. Mudanar alias Daya, Nasir J. Shaikh alias Baba (both from Telangana); Ghanshyam R. Saroj, Babu Taufiq Khan, M. Nadim Shafiq Khan, Ahmed Shah F.S. Azmi, Amir Taufiq Khan, M. Shadab Shamshad Khan, Alok Virendra Singh and Shubham Narendra Pratapsingh alias Shbham (all from UP); Mohamed S. Moin (Mumbai); Bharat S. Jadhav alias Babu (Thane); and Murtuza M. Kothari alias Zulfikar (Surat).
Apart from the 15, the other two arrested are Mustafa Y. Furniturewala and Hussain M. Furniturewala, both 'angadiyas' from whom the police seized Rs 6.80 lakh sent by an accused fugitive named Salim Dola, allegedly linked to the Dawood Ibrahim gang .
The seizures include mephedrone medicines, raw materials and other items such as vehicles from factories in UP, Telangana, and cash from Gujarat.
Eight of the accused are from Uttar Prades, three from Telangana and three from Maharashtra, and one from Gujarat, Pandey said.
The lid on the scandal burst when police launched an investigation on May 15 after intercepting two people in Vasai (Palghar) town at a check post in Chenagaon (Thane) and seizing 1 kg of mephedrone worth 2 million from them. of rupees.
His prolonged interrogation led to unraveling the tentacles of massive fraud spread in other states where police teams rushed to investigate.
One of the teams raided a factory at Narsapur in Telangana on May 17, seizing 103 grams of MD worth Rs 20.60 lakh and another 25 kg of raw materials worth Rs 25 crore, besides arresting two persons .
The interrogation led police to an associate in the Mumbai suburb of Goregaon and the seizure of MDs worth Rs 14.38 crore, besides the arrest of another person from Varanasi.
The combined probe continued with the raid landing on one person in Padgha village in Thane, leading to seizure of raw materials worth nearly Rs 54,000.
Pandey said investigation teams found that a person from Mumbai, who is still at large, had allegedly transferred funds for drug manufacturing through an associate in Surat.
The other person was caught in Surat along with Rs 10.90 lakh in cash, which was sent through traditional personal couriers called 'Angadiyas'.
Accordingly, the police turned their investigations to a couple from Angadiyas in south Mumbai, from whom they seized Rs 6,80,000 given to them by the accused from Surat.
The investigation led to the detection of an MD manufacturing unit in Jaunpur, UP, where police seized 300 kg of raw materials worth Rs 300 crore and nabbed three more people on June 25, followed by three more arrests. in Lucknow on June 25. 26.
They informed the police about another associate operating from Nala Sopara in Palghar, from whom the police recovered a revolver, 3 pistols and 33 bullets, Pandey said.
The defendants arrested in the entire scam over the past few months are . Memon and Nicholas L. Tritus (both of Vasai in Palghar); Dayanand M. Mudanar alias Daya, Nasir J. Shaikh alias Baba (both from Telangana); Ghanshyam R. Saroj, Babu Taufiq Khan, M. Nadim Shafiq Khan, Ahmed Shah F.S. Azmi, Amir Taufiq Khan, M. Shadab Shamshad Khan, Alok Virendra Singh and Shubham Narendra Pratapsingh alias Shbham (all from UP); Mohamed S. Moin (Mumbai); Bharat S. Jadhav alias Babu (Thane); and Murtuza M. Kothari alias Zulfikar (Surat).
Apart from the 15, the other two arrested are Mustafa Y. Furniturewala and Hussain M. Furniturewala, both 'angadiyas' from whom the police seized Rs 6.80 lakh sent by an accused fugitive named Salim Dola, allegedly linked to the Dawood Ibrahim gang .
