In a significant operation against an interstate drug trafficking syndicate, the Kashimira crime unit has arrested 15 individuals across India and seized mephedrone (MD) drugs and raw material worth Rs 328 crore. The police crackdown targeted factories in Uttar Pradesh and Telangana, where the illicit production of the banned substance was taking place under the instructions of Salim Dola, an associate of the notorious gangster Dawood Ibrahim.
The operation unfolded on May 15, when the Kashigaon police received a tip-off regarding a drug consignment headed towards Mira-Bhayander just days before the Lok Sabha election. Upon intercepting the vehicle, police seized 1 kg of mephedrone, valued at Rs 2 crore, and arrested Shoaib Memon and Nicolas Leofred, both residents of Vasai, for transporting the illegal substance.
Further investigation led the authorities to a large MD manufacturing factory located in Narsapur, Telangana. Here, they apprehended Dayanand Manik, a Hyderabad resident and the factory owner, along with his accomplice Nasir Shaikh from Telangana. The police seized over Rs 25 crore worth of drugs and raw materials from the factory.
The arrest of Dayanand played a pivotal role in the subsequent arrests of several others, including Mohammed Mohin, who was caught in Goregaon attempting to sell drugs. Officers seized 72 gm of the substance from Mohin.
The police also arrested Zulfikar Kothari from Surat, who was found to be receiving funds from Salim Dola. A significant amount of Rs 11 lakh was recovered from Kothari. In another breakthrough, the police arrested Mustafa and Hussain Furniturewala, a father-son duo from Bhendi Bazar, and seized Rs 7 lakh that had been routed through Dola.
The largest seizure in this operation occurred in Azamgarh, Uttar Pradesh, where MD raw material worth an estimated Rs 300 crore was confiscated.
The arrests and seizures mark a major step forward in dismantling the drug trafficking network linked to one of India’s most wanted gangsters.