History-sheeter using commercial vehicle to transport drugs held

The accused was running a distribution network of poly drugs in Bandra, Kurla & south Mumbai

MUMBAI: The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), on Friday, busted a ‘poly drug’ network in the city in which a history-sheeter and his accomplice were placed under arrest. According to the agency, the names of the arrested persons are history sheeter Zakir Hussain Abdul Rehman Shaikh, alias Bablu Patri, and his associate Sahab Ali Mohammad Hanif Mulla. The operation, headed by NCB’s zonal director Sameer Wankhede, led to seizure of 20 kilograms of a codeinebased cough syrup, 56 grams of mephedrone and 450 grams of marijuana near Kurla railway station. Acting on the information, NCB conducted searches at the residence of the accused in which the multiple drugs were seized.

“Patri is a notorious drug trafficker of Kurla. He was booked in two cases under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic

Substances Act, 1985 (NDPS Act) by the Anti-Narcotic Cell (ANC) in year 2010-11 and other cases of 324 of Indian Penal Code (voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous weapon),” said a senior NCB officer.

Patri was running a distribution network of poly drugs in Bandra, Kurla and south Mumbai. However, he decided not to leave behind any trial after cases of ANC and began to use layers of suppliers to evade in backtrack investigation, NCB stated. During the probe, the agency found out that a car with a commercial registration number was being used to avoid any suspicion. “One car with a commercial registration number has also been intercepted, which was supposed to be used for carrying bulk consignment of drugs,” the officer said, adding that further investigation is underway to trace more suspects. -