Ketamine worth Rs 37 crore seized in Mumbai, two held in Thailand-bound drug caseMumbai, Sept 29 (UNI) Mumbai police have arrested two men and recovered 12.39 kg of suspected ketamine, worth an estimated Rs 37.17 crore ($4.4 million), from their luggage near the Airport Metro Station in Andheri East in an alleged international drug trafficking case, officials said on Tuesday.The two men, identified by police as Adnan Ahmed Niyaz Ahmed Siddiqui, 35, and Saud Mushtaq Maniyar, 29, were intercepted near Airport Metro Station in Andheri East on Sept. 25, police said.The accused allegedly concealed the drugs in aluminium packets containing farsan and chiwda and were preparing to send them to Thailand.The arrested men have been identified as Adnan Ahmed Niyaz Ahmed Siddiqui, 35, a BA graduate from Mazgaon East, and Saud Mushtaq Maniyar, 29, from Girgaon, who studied up to Class 10.According to police, the two men were spotted moving suspiciously with luggage on the footpath towards Sakinaka along Andheri-Kurla Road at around 11 p.m. on September 25. When a patrolling team approached them, they allegedly attempted to flee but were caught after a chase.Deputy Commissioner of Police, West Region III, Datta Nalawade, said police recovered 12 kg and 390 grams of suspected ketamine, a psychotropic substance, valued at Rs 37.17 crore. The accused allegedly concealed the substance in food packets and were preparing to send it to Thailand. Police said the duo were members of a gang that handed drugs to carriers for delivery in Thailand.The gang had allegedly been active for several months and used aluminium-plastic food packets because their construction could make it difficult for scanning authorities to detect the concealed substance, police said.According to police, the accused supplied ketamine to carriers travelling by air to countries including Thailand, Indonesia, Myanmar and Malaysia. After reaching their destinations, the carriers allegedly handed over the drugs to other gang members near the airport before returning to India within two days.Police said the two accused had travelled to Thailand around six months ago, where they allegedly came into contact with members of the gang and subsequently began working for them.The gang allegedly recruited women as carriers. According to police, its members obtained details of tourists through travel companies and contacted potential carriers. The accused allegedly arranged visas for them and told them they would have to bring gold back to India. However, after the carriers reached their destinations, the gang allegedly gave them various reasons for not bringing the gold back.Police said the gang mainly transported ketamine by air and paid carriers around Rs 1 lakh for taking the drugs abroad. Investigators have so far identified seven people and arrested two of them.During the operation, a search of Siddiqui's olive-green bag allegedly led to the recovery of a transparent zip-lock bag containing 6 kg and 280 grams of white powder. Two mobile phones were also seized from him.Similarly, police allegedly recovered 6 kg and 110 grams of white crystalline powder from Maniyar's mint-green bag. His mobile phone was also seized, according to a MIDC police officer.DCP Nalawade supervised the operation, which was led by Senior Inspector Ghanshyam Nair. Assistant Chemical Analyst Himanshu Khadekar examined the seized substances and described them as suspected drugs. The forensic team's report, along with the strong odour of the substance, indicated that it was likely ketamine, police said.Police said the entire search and seizure process was conducted through the e-Witness system and videographed. The seized substances and luggage were sealed as exhibits in the presence of panch witnesses.UNI AAA AABमुंबई, 29 सितंबर (वार्ता) महाराष्ट्र में मुंबई पुलिस ने अंधेरी पूर्व में एयरपोर्ट मेट्रो स्टेशन के पास चलाए गए एक अभियान के दौरान अंतरराष्ट्रीय नशीली दवाओं की तस्करी के संदेह में दो लोगों को गिरफ्तार कर उनके पास से 12.39 किलोग्राम संदिग्ध केटामाइन जब्त की है। अंतरराष्ट्रीय बाजार में इसकी अनुमानित कीमत लगभग 37.17 करोड़ रुपये बताई गई है।
दोनों आरोपियों की पहचान माज़गांव ईस्ट निवासी 35 वर्षीय अदनान अहमद नियाज अहमद सिद्दीकी (बीए स्नातक) और गिरगांव निवासी 29 वर्षीय सऊद मुश्ताक मनियार (10वीं पास) के रूप में हुई है। अधिकारियों ने बताया कि दोनों आरोपियों को 25 सितंबर की रात लगभग 11 बजे अंधेरी-कुर्ला रोड पर साकीनाका की ओर फुटपाथ पर संदिग्ध अवस्था में घूमते हुए देखा गया था। गश्ती दल को अपनी ओर आता देख आरोपियों ने भागने का प्रयास किया, लेकिन पुलिस ने पीछा कर उन्हें धर दबोचा।
पुलिस उपायुक्त दत्ता नलवडे ने बताया कि तलाशी के दौरान सिद्दीकी के बैग से छह किलो 280 ग्राम और मनियार के बैग से 6 किलो 110 ग्राम सफेद क्रिस्टलीय पाउडर बरामद हुआ। इसके अलावा उनके पास से तीन मोबाइल फोन भी जब्त किए गए हैं। फोरेंसिक टीम की प्राथमिक जांच, गंध और सहायक रसायन विश्लेषक हिमांशु खाड़ेकर के परीक्षण के आधार पर जब्त पदार्थ के केटामाइन होने की पुष्टि हुई है।
पूछताछ में खुलासा हुआ कि आरोपी नशीले पदार्थों को नमकीन, फरसाण और चिवड़ा के एल्युमिनियम-प्लास्टिक पैकेटों में छिपाकर थाईलैंड भेजने की तैयारी कर रहे थे, ताकि हवाई अड्डों पर लगे स्कैनर की पकड़ से बचा जा सके। दोनों आरोपी एक ऐसे अंतरराष्ट्रीय गिरोह के सदस्य हैं जो थाईलैंड, इंडोनेशिया, म्यांमार और मलेशिया जाने वाले हवाई यात्रियों को कैरियर के रूप में इस्तेमाल करते थे। गिरोह के सदस्य ट्रैवल कंपनियों के जरिए पर्यटकों की जानकारी जुटाते थे और महिलाओं तथा अन्य यात्रियों को विदेश से सोना लाने का झांसा देकर एक लाख रुपये का लालच देते थे, लेकिन गंतव्य पर पहुंचकर उनसे केटामाइन की डिलीवरी ले ली जाती थी।
हिंदी हिन्दुस्तान की स्वीकृति से एचटीडीएस कॉन्टेंट सर्विसेज़ द्वारा प्रकाशित