Caught in transit: Amboli becomes hub of drug hauls
In one of the biggest drug busts in the city, Amboli Police arrested five foreign nationals and recently seized 6.5kg of cocaine, worth over Rs 38 crore. The drugs were carefully concealed in curtain rings and rods, which were supposedly being sent to Johannesburg, South Africa and Auckland, New Zealand. Over the last two years, Amboli Police have intercepted almost 75 people and seized drugs worth almost Rs 100 crore.
According to police, Amboli has been deemed as the centre for drug deals, but the fact remains that all the drug hauls made over the years are those seized in transit. Bharat Gaikwad, sen- ior police inspector of Amboli police station said, “Our excellent team of police officers and their network of informers have enabled us to nab drug peddlers and dealers, ranging from the local dealers to drug kingpins. Since Amboli falls in the centre of the city, with airports, highways and railways close by, it becomes easier for us to lay traps and nab the peddlers.”
Records have shown that 15 per cent of the accused held in drug haul cases in Amboli had already been on the radar of the directorate of revenue intelligence (DRI) and bulk consignments of the drugs are usually on the way to another country. Police Inspector Daya Nayak believes Amboli has seen the most number of drug seizures over the years and the drive against drug peddling will continue until it is eradicated at the grassroot level.
On December 30 2018, a team led by Inspector Daya Nayak from Amboli police station had laid a trap near Agarwal Estate Road in Jogeshwari (E) and intercepted two persons with drugs brought in for New Year's Eve. Police found 20kg of high quality ephedrine in the duo’s possession. The accused duo, identified as Mohd Ismail Ghulam Hussain, 45, and Dayanand Manik Muddannar, 32, were transporting ephedrine from Hyderabad by road and were going to pass on the drugs to citybased drug peddlers for New Year's parties.