Exclusive: Mumbai Police, GRP, RPF bust 'drugs mall' in dead of the night on CR

Over 100 cops, GRP and RPF officials were involved in the raid, with reps from five units of the Anti-Narcotics Cell combing the area between Byculla and Sandhurst Road stations

For the last three years, African drug peddlers and the Mumbai police have been involved in a cat-and-mouse game with the former managing to give the cops a slip on most occasions. But the chase reached a crescendo on Thursday night when various security agencies collaborated to launch one of their biggest crackdowns till date.

CSMT, 8.29 PM

1. Hemant Bawdhankar, senior inspector of CSMT GRP and his team started from CSMT and boarded the 8.32 pm Panvel local and, around 8.40 pm, they took stock of the positions of the various units. Pics/Bipin Kokate and Sneha Kharabe

The operation led to the arrest of nine drug peddlers, who were nabbed near the Eastern Freeway on the intervening night of July 26 and July 27. In a bid to snuff out the peddlers, who have been operating on the railway tracks between Masjid and Byculla stations on the Central Railway, over 100 police officials from the Government Railway Police (GRP) and Railway Protection Force (RPF) joined hands for Operation AM, named after assistant police inspector Amar Marathe, who suffered a head injury and is undergoing treatment, after a group of peddlers pelted stones at him last week when an Anti-Narcotics Cell (ANC) team raided the area. Since 2016, 10 Crime Branch cops have been injured in attacks by drug peddlers on this stretch. Three mid-day reporters and a photographer accompanied the search-and-arrest operation, and here's how the saga unfolded.

Sandhurst Road, 9 PM

2. The RPF staff had taken its position in the bushes along the tracks. The others began walking on the tracks

One step ahead
Hemant Bawdhankar, senior inspector of CSMT GRP, revealed that peddlers had been using the five-kilometre stretch of railway tracks between Sandhurst Road and Masjid railway station to sell drugs, including cocaine and mephedrone. At night, due to absence of lights on the stretch, the area is enveloped in darkness and their presence goes unnoticed. Their trade remained unhindered.

Railway Yard, 9.30 PM

3. The RPF were armed with necessary safety gear as their job involved entering yards, which are usually the hideouts

Last month, nearly 60 locals had stood guard on the foot overbridge leading down to the tracks to stop customers from approaching peddlers, who in reactionary anger, pelted stones at the residents. But this time, the cops decided to up their game by starting combing operations soon after dusk.

Byculla, 11 PM

4. Police teams from the four stations ensured that the railway exits were sealed with the help of local residents, who had been targeted by the peddlers in the past

Officials from GRP, RPF and Byculla, Agripada, JJ and Dongri police stations formed teams to comb the tracks. While most of the staff was in civil clothes, the RPF were in uniform and armed with safety gear. They were instructed to enter nooks and crannies of yards, which are usually the hideouts where drug dealings take place.

The nine arrested have been identified as Charles Ifini Ijia, Okoro Jems Aja, Mascells John Dino, Samuel Baju Okeni, Ken Kon Ishmel, Kofi Jems Romalik, Chikku Fry, Nanna Harisans Agvu, and Joku Humai Vachuku Pais. A case has been filed under the Indian Passport Act as they don't have their passports

Speaking to mid-day, Bawdhankar said, "We had to tread smartly, which is why we ensured there was coordination between city police as well as the RPF. On Thursday evening, the GRP and RPF combed the tracks from Sandhurst Road railway yard and the railway tracks from Byculla to Sandhurst Road railway station." Police teams from the four stations ensured that the railway exits were sealed with the help of local residents.

Multiple entry and exit points
Around 8 pm on July 26, the teams started assembling in their respective units. The GRP team began from CSMT and boarded the 8.32 pm Panvel local. At 8.40 pm, they took stock of the positions of the various units. The RPF staff had taken its position in the bushes along the tracks, around 9.20 pm. The rest began walking on the tracks and scanning every corner of the stretch till Wadi Bunder.

While the GRP team was led by Bawdhankar and Ajit Bartakke from Wadala, the RPF teams were led by officers Rakesh Kumar from Byculla and Wadi Bunder units respectively. While there, mid-day observed that there were several illegal entry and exit points. Crumbling walls worked as an easy route for access into railway premises.

A senior official said that the peddlers had changed their tactics by carrying pocket-sized quantities of drugs so that they could easily dispose it off. Due to darkness, finding the discarded packets would be challenging.

Around 10 pm, as the cops moved ahead of Sandhurst Road, the peddlers spotted the teams and slid under the trains in the railway yard. And, when the teams (which had still not spotted him) walked ahead to a safe distance, they got out from under the train and used one of the many holes in the wall to escape. In the meantime, a police source, called the cops to let them know that a peddler had been spotted and the cops rushed back, but failed to nab him.

The moment of success
In the wee hours of July 28, the ANC teams finally witnessed their moment of glory when they found nine peddlers near the Eastern Freeway, where they had temporarily moved their operations to. DCP Shivdeep Lande, ANC, said, "We were keeping a watch on the peddlers all of last week, and all our units laid a trap near Eastern Freeway. We successfully arrested them. We had also taken precautions so that they wouldn't find the chance to enter the railway yard. Else, they could have escaped and attacked us again." The ANC team had used informers to help keep track of the peddlers' movements, which helped them make the arrest on Saturday.

ANC seized 104 gm cocaine worth R5.2 lakh along with 9 gm mephedrone worth R18,000, apart from two knives. A case has been filed under relevant sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act and the Indian Passport Act and Maharashtra Police Act.

"We have written a letter to the railway authority in which we have asked them to close illegal entry points from where these peddlers enter the tracks easily. We also asked them to increase the wall height and add fences to hinder access. We have asked them to ensure the area is well-lit," Bawdankar added.

Also Read: Mumbai Police on the alert after attack by Nigerian drug peddlers

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