Nine-member family has been running hashish racket since 1980s

(From left) Abdul Shaikh, his son Arif and son-in-law Abdul Karobari

Abdul Mohammed Shaikh, alias Abdul Thana and his family are peddlers of the high life. Nine members of the 66-year-old's family make a living out of procuring and selling hashish. While Abdul's career is well documented by the police, the large-scale involvement of nine of his family members in the syndicate emerged after he was recently held and interrogated by the Narcotics Control Bureau.

Hotel Shalimar in Jalgaon, owned by Abdul Shaikh

Family business
Drug peddling has been a family business for the Shaikhs for at least the last three decades. Abdul inherited the trade from his father-in-law Ismail Jadiya in the 1980s. Jadiya was the top drug peddler of his time. While Jadiya continues his operations in Kashmir, Abdul thought of doubling his profits by smuggling the drug to Mumbai, that has better demand and prices.

Abdul has now passed the baton to his wife Nazma, son Arif, daughters Rubina and Rehana and their husbands Abdul Karobari and Kayamuddin Khan. Abdul's elder son Bilal is the only one not in the business but is an active member of a political party in Jalgaon. Arif is married to Tammana, the daughter of one of Kashmir's drug kingpins Ashraf. The entire family runs an organised syndicate from Kashmir, Uttar Pradesh to Mumbai and Thane.

Modus operandi
Abdul's ‘family touch' in the business extends to procuring the hash, too. He smuggles the drug from Kashmir with the help of Arif's father-in-law Asraf, who is based in the northern state. Various Kashmiri families are into this business. They travel from Kashmir to Delhi by bus and then catch a train to Mumbai. They handover the drug to Abdul and his family inside the train to avoid CCTV cameras on the platform and then catch the next train back home. This modus operandi is active every 20 days.

Mumbai police have arrested Abdul thrice in the past for smuggling hash. He was first arrested in 1996 with 400 gm, then in 2008, he was nabbed with 60 kg and in 2013, he was held after 1.2 kg of hash was seized from his home in Thane. In the last arrest, he served eight months in prison and was then out on bail. This time around, the NCB trapped him, his other son Ashrad and son-in-law Abdul Karobari.

Family's police logs
His family isn't far behind on the police's logs either. Four cases under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act have been registered against Arif, two against his Karobari. Abdul's younger brother used to work for gangster Chhota Shakeel and was killed in an encounter in the 90s. Nazma was arrested in 2010 with 15 kg hash at her residence. She works for a political party to escape the agencies. Abdul has been in the business for 35 years and has various properties in the state, which includes one Shalimar Hotel in Jalgaon and a restaurant. He owns various flats under the name of his relatives in Mumbra and Thane.