Mumbai Crime: 17.5 kg charas smuggled from PoK seized, 7 held

Shabir Usman Shaikh, Nizamuddin Ahmad Taza, Noor Mohammed Jumman and Amit Prakash Patel

A week-long operation at multiple locations in Mumbai and Thane helped anti-drug officers seize 17.5 kg hashish worth Rs 9 crore. The Narcotics Control Bureau has arrested 7 people and suspects a narco-terror angle since the drug had been smuggled from Pak Occupied Kashmir.

Rajvinder Singh, Gurmit Singh, Kamlesh Gupta

Posing as drug peddlers, drug addicts and toll booth operators, three teams of NCB launched operation ‘Dark Night' to bust the racket. "It was one of the biggest operations we have conducted so far. My team faced a lot of challenges to nab these smugglers who are history-sheeters. The entire operation took a week," said Sameer Wankhede, zonal director of NCB.

Officers said the hashish was recovered from four locations. In the first operation, NCB confiscated 2 kg of charas (hashish) at a shrine in Dadar and arrested four men identified as Kamlesh Gupta, Amit Praksh Patel, Rajvinder Singh and Gurmit Singh.

A room had been booked inside the religious place where the drug dealing was going on, it said. "The NCB intercepted the room. During the search, R2.2 lakh in cash was recovered and on further revelation 2 kg charas was found," the NCB said in a press statement.

Brought drugs on bike from Jammu and Kashmir

The agency said Rajvinder Singh and Gurmit Singh travelled from Punjab to Jammu and Kashmir to Mumbai on a bike carrying the contraband in backpacks.

Gupta's interrogation led the NCB to Chunabhatti where it recovered 3.3 kg of hashish from Noor Mohammed Jumman along with R2.2 lakh. "We have found that the hashish has originated from Jammu and Kashmir. We are exploring all possible angles including terrorism as it is a big consignment," said Wankhede.

In another operation, the NCB nabbed Shabir Usman Shaikh and Nizamuddin Ahmad Taza and recovered 12kg of hashish at Arjun Ali toll Plaza of Padga in Bhiwandi. "It took more than 48 hours to conclude this operation at the toll plaza as the accused changed their locations more than six times. Somehow, we managed to get our hands on them," added Wankhede. All the arrested men will be produced in court on Wednesday.