Mumbai Crime: Muchhad Paanwala arrested in drugs case

The Muchhad Paan Shop at Kemps Corner is a popular landmark in south Mumbai. Pic/Pradeep Dhivar

Mumbai's famous Muchhad Paanwala - Ramkumar Tiwari - was arrested on Tuesday in a drugs case, said Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) officials.

Tiwari was sent to judicial custody by the Magistrate Court on Tuesday. He has applied for bail.

According to the NCB, Karan Sajnani, a British citizen who was arrested on Saturday, supplied half kg of a narcotics substance to Tiwari, which has been recovered from the latter's warehouse. The NCB will conclude what drug was recovered after it gets the test results.

Also Read: Mumbai's celeb 'Muchhad Paanwala' summoned by NCB in drugs case

The NCB is also probing if Tiwari was using narcotics substances such as MP Joint, which was recovered from his shop, to make his paans tastier and to get his customers addicted to them and whether he was giving them to select customers.

The landmark shop at Kemps Corner, near Malabar Hill, highlights the ear-to-ear bushy moustache of the founder, his sons and grandsons.

Operating since nearly 45 years, the outlet later became a rage among the people, attracting top film stars, businessmen, politicians, and other celebs for his lip-smacking post-meal chewy munchies.

In fact, in 2016, it became the first 'paan' outlet to host its own website to take online orders from his discerning customers on its huge variety of mouth-melting preparations in Kolkata, Banarasi or Maggai paans, or several types of paan-masalas, whipped up with specially-sourced ingredients.

Tiwari came to Mumbai in 1977 and took over his father's paan business. He earned a lot of money through his business, and also got orders from abroad through his website. He owns Mercedes cars and stays in South Mumbai. He also has a long list of customers like top businessmen, cricketers and A list Bollywood stars. The rates of his paan start from Rs 120 and go up to Rs 650.