Drug dealers have been luring families from Bihar and UP with free Mumbai tours, using them instead to carry drug stash
Mastermind Kamar Ahmad
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That drug dealers have to always stay one step ahead of the law is a given. Not to mention, their ever-evolving modus operandi, which keeps law enforcement agencies on their toes. This week, the Mumbai crime branch's Anti-Narcotics Cell (ANC) came up against their newest chicanery - seemingly respectable families being roped in to throw cops off the scent.
The ploy, which played out successfully for five-long years, was busted during an inter-state drug trafficking racket on Monday.
Pappu Singh and his family and the other accused being produced in court
An offer you can't refuse
According to ANC sources, drug dealers would masquerade as tour operators, and offer free tour packages in Mumbai to families in Bihar, Jharkhand and Uttar Pradesh.
"The deal was too good to refuse as it involved travelling to Mumbai in an SUV, touring across Mumbai and even Rs 20,000 to spend," the source told mid-day. The vehicles, unbeknownst to the families, would be stocked with drugs.
According to the ANC, the families on tour were the perfect cover to dodge highway police and other enforcement agencies. Once the touring family reached Mumbai, the consignment was moved to another vehicle and from there to the suppliers. ANC sources said that the new modus operandi was a hit among drug traffickers because families in these regions regularly fell for the lucrative "free Mumbai tour" offer.
The SUV that was used to transport the cannabis consignment
A chance bust
The Mumbai ANC stumbled upon the modus operandi accidentally this week. On Monday, after ANC officials received specific information, they arrested seven people, including a minor girl and a woman and seized 110kg of cannabis (ganja), while the contraband was being off-loaded from a tour vehicle to another vehicle in Mankhurd. When questioned, the racketeers revealed their modus operandi.
Those arrested include Kamar Ahmad (40), a Mumbai-based peddler, who had placed an order for the drugs, Reay Road-based taxi driver Mohammad Arif (29), Munna Kumar (34) and Mukesh Singh, who drove the vehicle from Bihar to Mumbai. The racketeers had used Pappu Singh, a waiter in Patna, his wife Rinku Singh and their 15-year-old daughter as cover. The police are still investigating if Singh and his family were aware of the consignment being transported in the vehicle.
The taxi in which it was to be transferred, once it reached Mumbai
The mastermind
According to ANC sources, city-based peddler Ahmad is the key person in the inter-state racket. He was arrested by the Ghatkopar ANC around three years ago, but, later managed to secure bail. After being released on bail, Ahmad decided to come up with the "free family tour of Mumbai".
Ahmad would first get orders from his network of peddlers across Mumbai, after which he would arrange the car, driver and the family. He would then contact cannabis suppliers from states like Andhra Pradesh, Orissa and Jharkhand for his supplies.
ANC believes that Ahmad had used around five to six families as cover to smuggle the drugs. Officials are trying to obtain more details from these families, the source said.
Air freshener did the trick
While some families were completely unaware about the racket, there were others, who were in the know.
When questioned, the Singh family told interrogators that they had received an offer from a Bihar-based man (wanted in the case), who told them that he would arrange a "free trip" for his entire family. Since they had never been to Mumbai before, they jumped on the idea.
The Bihar-based man also told the family that some of his luggage - in this case cannabis - would be transported to Mumbai in the vehicle. During the entire journey, racketeers kept spraying air freshener in the car to kill the strong odour, said an ANC official, while requesting anonymity.
Deputy Commissioner of Police Shivdeep Lande said, "On Monday, we produced the accused in court. They have been remanded to police custody. The minor has been sent to the Dongri child correction home."
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