ANC nabs man possessing MD drug worth Rs 1 crore

In its crackdown against drug menace, the Anti-Narcotics Cell (ANC) of the Mumbai crime branch on Tuesday arrested a 44-year-old carr ying over one kilogram of mephedrone (MD) worth Rs 1crore. The accused is identified as Arif Abdul Gafar Shaikh, a resident of South Mumbai, who was arrested from Tardeo, when he came to supply the contraband substance.

According to the ANC officials, they received specific information that a drug dealer would come to Tardeo on Tuesday. Accordingly, the Worli unit of ANC laid a trap near Tulshiwadi Post office in Tardeo and apprehended Shaikh af ter he found loitering suspiciously. During his search, 1,105 grams of MD was recovered. The seized quantity of drug is worth Rs 1.1 crore in the international market, said the officials. Following the seizure, an offence under the relevant sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act (NDPS) was registered against Shaikh. He was later produced before the court on Wednesday which sent him to police custody. According to officials, Shaikh a resident of South Mumbai was previous arrested for assault and other offences.

In another operation on Tuesday, the Worli unit of ANC arrested a person from Nagpada and seized 60 grams of MD worth Rs 6 lakh. According to the police, the accused Kamran Javed Shaikh, 32, has a criminal record with at least five NDPS cases besides a couple of assault cases registered against him.