Mira Bhayander-Vasai Virar Police Commissioner Madhukar Pandey told the media that the scandal, with mafia connections, also led to the seizure of four guns and several live cartridges from one of the accused in Palghar .
The seizures include the drug mephedrone (MD), raw materials and other items such as vehicles from factories in UP and Telangana, and cash from Gujarat.
The arrested accused are eight people from UP, three from Telangana and three from Maharashtra, and one from Gujarat, and more arrests are likely to be made, Pandey said.
Investigations began on May 15 when detectives of Kashimira Police Unit 1 of MBVV Crime Branch seized one kg of MD valued at Rs 2 million and nabbed two persons, both from Vasai town in Palghar , at a check post in Chenagaon (Thane). His prolonged interrogation led to unraveling the tentacles 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 valued at Rs 20.60 lakh and another 25 kg of raw materials valued at Rs 25 crore, besides arresting two persons.
The interrogation led police to an associate in Mumbai's Goregaon suburb and the seizure of MD worth 71.10 grams valued at Rs 14.38 crore, besides the arrest of another person in Varanasi.
The combined investigation continued with the raid landing on one person in Padgha village in Thane, seizing raw materials worth nearly Rs 54,000. Pandey said investigation teams detected 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 captured in Surat along with Rs 10.90 lakh in cash, which was sent through traditional Indian personal couriers called 'Angadiyas'.
Accordingly, the investigation zeroed in on a couple of Angadiyas in south Mumbai from whom the police seized Rs 680,000 handed over 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 on June 25, followed by three more arrests in Lucknow. on June 25 and 26.
They informed the police about another associate operating from Nala Sopara in Palghar, from whom the police teams recovered one revolver, 3 pistols and 33 bullets, Pandey said, adding that further investigation is underway.
The accused arrested in the entire scam over the last few months include Shoaib H. Memon and Nicholas L. Tritus (both from Vasai in Palghar), Dayanand M. Mudanar alias Daya and Nasir J. Shaikh alias Baba (both from Telangana) , Ghanshyam R. Saroj (Varanasi), Mohamed S. Moin (Mumbai), Bharat S. Jadhav alias Babu (Thane) and Murtuza M. Kothari alias Zulfikar (Surat, Gujarat).
The seizures include the drug mephedrone (MD), raw materials and other items such as vehicles from factories in UP and Telangana, and cash from Gujarat.
The arrested accused are eight people from UP, three from Telangana and three from Maharashtra, and one from Gujarat, and more arrests are likely to be made, Pandey said.
Investigations began on May 15 when detectives of Kashimira Police Unit 1 of MBVV Crime Branch seized one kg of MD valued at Rs 2 million and nabbed two persons, both from Vasai town in Palghar , at a check post in Chenagaon (Thane). His prolonged interrogation led to unraveling the tentacles 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 valued at Rs 20.60 lakh and another 25 kg of raw materials valued at Rs 25 crore, besides arresting two persons.
The interrogation led police to an associate in Mumbai's Goregaon suburb and the seizure of MD worth 71.10 grams valued at Rs 14.38 crore, besides the arrest of another person in Varanasi.
The combined investigation continued with the raid landing on one person in Padgha village in Thane, seizing raw materials worth nearly Rs 54,000. Pandey said investigation teams detected 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 captured in Surat along with Rs 10.90 lakh in cash, which was sent through traditional Indian personal couriers called 'Angadiyas'.
Accordingly, the investigation zeroed in on a couple of Angadiyas in south Mumbai from whom the police seized Rs 680,000 handed over 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 on June 25, followed by three more arrests in Lucknow. on June 25 and 26.
They informed the police about another associate operating from Nala Sopara in Palghar, from whom the police teams recovered one revolver, 3 pistols and 33 bullets, Pandey said, adding that further investigation is underway.
The accused arrested in the entire scam over the last few months include Shoaib H. Memon and Nicholas L. Tritus (both from Vasai in Palghar), Dayanand M. Mudanar alias Daya and Nasir J. Shaikh alias Baba (both from Telangana) , Ghanshyam R. Saroj (Varanasi), Mohamed S. Moin (Mumbai), Bharat S. Jadhav alias Babu (Thane) and Murtuza M. Kothari alias Zulfikar (Surat, Gujarat).
