Trio held with drugs worth Rs 16-crore at Antop Hill

Imran Jhalori, Amjad Khan and Asif Arab are residents of Antop Hill and live in the same building

Unit 01 of the Mumbai Crime Branch seized a drug worth Rs 16 crore on Wednesday night from Antop Hill. The police arrested three people in possession of it and they have been sent to the custody of the Crime Branch for further investigation. According to sources, the accused were not aware of the exact value of the drug, and were going to sell it in the market at a throw away price.

According to the Mumbai Crime Branch, based on specific information, three people were detained in Antop Hill. They were found to be in possession of 16 kilo 100 grams synthetic drug Methaqualone worth Rs 16 crore. "The accused have been nabbed and further investigation is on to ascertain the source and beneficiaries of the contraband," said Neelotpal, DCP Detection, Mumbai Crime Branch.

How they got it

The arrested accused were identified as Imran Jhalori, Amjad Khan and Asif Arab. They are residents of Antop Hill and live in the same building. They are daily wage earners. During the preliminary probe, the Crime Branch found that the contraband was stored in a godown and its owner passed away last year in November. The police declined to give more information about the godown owner as they are investigating how he came into possession of the drug. The godown was used to store mobile phone accesssories and chargers, etc. "Jhalori used to work in the godown and was asked by its owner before his death to dispose of something that was kept in a packet. But he was not told that it was the drug," a police officer said.

After the owner's death, instead of disposing of the drug, Jhalori tried to find what was in the packet and decided to sell it. "He might have had an idea about the drug but he wasn't aware about its actual price. The message was sent to drug dealers and he wanted to sell it for R 5 lakh," the officer added.

Cops also seize raw material

The police have also seized raw material which is around 48kg, used to increase the quantity of synthetic drugs by smugglers and dealers. All the accused were produced before the Killa court and remanded in Crime Branch custody till January 20.