Old smuggling haven in eye of storm

DAWOOD IBRAHIM AND HIS MEN HAD BEEN RUNNING A SMUGGLING BUSINESS FROM SHRIVARDHAN SINCE THE LATE 1980S

MUMBAI:ONCE notorious for being a safe haven of underworld goons and smugglers in the 1990s, Shrivardhan town in Maharashtra’s Raigad district, bore the brunt of Cyclone Nisarga on Wednesday.

Known to locals as the birth place of the first Peshwa Balaji Vishwanath and one of the 16 fortified towns to be ceded to Kanhoji Angre – the chief of Maratha Navy, the town lay forgotten till Imtiaz Ghavte, one of the accused in the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts case, was arrested by two sub-inspectors at Worli police station.

During investigations, Ghavte had named Tiger Memon, who started as a driver in gangster

Dawood Ibrahim’s company, as the main conspirator for the blasts. Police said Ghavte told investigators that Ibrahim and his men had been running a gold and silver smuggling business from Shrivardhan since the late 1980s. Investigations revealed that under the guise of landing silver and gold ingots along the coast, Ibrahim’s henchmen like Dawood Phanse landed Research

Development Explosive (RDX) and assault rifles, which were used in the serial blasts.

Landing agents of Dawood Ibrahim’s company paid ₹50 per box, instead of the usual ₹5 for transporting silver and gold ingots, to Rashid Alware, a truck owner from Shrivardhan, to transport the explosives, said police. Alware was arrested on April 1, 1993 and later convicted for three years.

Since then, however, the town located about 170 kilometres from Mumbai, has changed its image to become a major tourist attraction. Its black sand beaches and remnants of the eighteenth century fortifications have attracted an influx of tourists over the years.