New breed of drug runners in Mumbai, hunt on for the kingpin in Bihar

The stash seized by the Malwani and MHB police

In the past week alone, the Zone-11 police have seized drugs, including MD, heroin and cocaine, worth about Rs 3.32 crore, with the arrest of four peddlers and distributors from Malwani and MHB Colony. Two of them are first-time offenders, and one is 23-year-old pregnant woman who had been dealing drugs in small quantities but was never caught before, said sources.

Malwani police said they arrested two men, identified as Pramod Kalicharan Sharma, 38, who is a native of Bihar, and Md Ismail Md Najrul Khan, 32, who hails from Madhya Pradesh. They both had allegedly smuggled heroin worth Rs 1.69 crore from a district [police refuse to reveal the exact location] in Bihar along the Nepal border, for delivery to the peddlers in Malwani, said officers.

From left Victor Obgbonna Chukwuneye, Md Ismail Md Najrul Khanm, Pramod Kalicharan Sharma, Muskan Kanojia

The arrest of the duo was followed by the apprehension of a Nigerian national, Victor Obgbonna Chukwuneye, who was caught with MD (Mephedrone) worth Rs 1.12 crore on Wednesday. The 36-year-old came to India on a business visa in 2016, and was arrested by the Nalasopara police in a drugs case last year. Malwani police are now trying to find out from whom Victor procured the drug and who were his sellers. Police have learnt that Victor always dealt drugs and did financial transactions in moving trains. Victor and his buyers did business on trust, they added.

Under the supervision of Deputy Commissioner of Police Vishal Thakur, Assistant Inspector Hasan Mulani and his detection team laid a trap and arrested the duo on Saturday. We are now on a lookout for the kingpin of the drug mafia believed to be living in the district in Bihar from where the two came, said an officer.

Malwani police team with the Nigerian national (in face cover)

The drug seized from the duo is known as Double Tiger, a premium quality heroin which is made in Thailand and is expensive, he said, adding, "It is likely that the smugglers brought it to Bihar from Thailand via Nepal, for supplying it to different states".

Cocaine smuggler

Similarly, the MHB police arrested a 23-year-old pregnant woman, identified as Muskan Kanojia, on Saturday for allegedly peddling cocaine worth Rs 51 lakh in Borivli.

Kanojia, who is currently five months pregnant, lives with her husband and their two children at Shivaji Nagar in Borivli West, police said. Her husband owns an ambulance, which the police suspect is being used to transport and deliver drugs in the city. Under the supervision of Senior Inspector Sudhir Kudalkar, Detection officer Sandeep Salvi and his team caught Kanojia and seized 345 gram of cocaine worth about Rs 51.75 lakh, said an officer.

Kanojia has no previous criminal record, but she had been dealing drugs in small quantities, said an officer of the MHB police station. Police had been monitoring her activities before finally apprehending her.

First-time offenders

According to the initial probe, Sharma and Khan have committed this offence for the first time, said Malwani police. Sharma was a contractor by profession, and took up contracts to build roads and houses in Bihar, but he suffered losses and had no work due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He then entered the drug business hoping to make big money, said an officer, adding that he was going to get a commission of Rs 5 lakh for transporting drugs to Mumbai.

"It is not that the cases of drug smuggling have suddenly increased in Zone 11 today. Our officers have been achieving such success continuously, working tirelessly for days and nights," said DCP Thakur. "We are trying to make North Mumbai completely drug-free, and work is being done continuously after the instructions of the police commissioner. A special section has been made in all the police stations in Zone 11, which are monitoring the suspicious areas. I am personally monitoring and guiding, and we are getting. All the matters will be investigated thoroughly, and no accused will be spared."

Rs 1.69 crore
Value of heroin seized from smugglers from Bihar

Rs .12 crore
Value of MD seized from Nigerian national

Rs 51 lakh
Value of cocaine seized from pregnant woman