A Mumbai-based middleman, who has been arrested, is the nephew of Abu Azmi, SP MLA from Mankhurd
It seems the mafias in Mumbai and Dubai have moved on to pastures greener than extortion and contract killings. A Rs 40-crore consignment of highly addictive drug methamphetamine, commonly known as Ice, was seized by the Delhi Police’s Special Cell while it was on its way from Delhi to London.
The drug, 5 kg in all, was being transported by an Indian courier company. A tip-off led to the arrest of courier company owner and his two managers, and a middleman from a five-star hotel in Mumbai, who might also have underworld and political connections. Reportedly, the entire syndicate was being controlled by mafias in Mumbai and Dubai.
Arrestee Abu Aslam Qasim Azmi alias Aslam, 34, a resident of Poghdiwala building on the Saifi Jublee Street, ran his operations from a five-star hotel in Mumbai, from where he was nabbed in a raid on Tuesday. Police sources also confirmed that Aslam is the nephew of Samajwadi Party (SP) MLA, Abu Azmi, who represents the Mankhurd Shivaji Nagar constituency in the city.
When queried by DNA, Azmi said: “The person arrested is the son of my own brother and is my nephew. I don’t know about his whereabouts and his activities, but I know that he lived in Dubai. We have not been in touch with him for a long time.”
According to sources, Aslam was the right hand of Dubai-based Kailash Rajput, who controls the international drug syndicate from there. Aslam helped Rajput expand the network in India and is suspected to have connections with a Mumbai-based politician as well. The police are, however, yet to ascertain the link.
The cartel was busted by a team of the south western range of Special Cell, led by ACP Akhileshwar Swroop Yadav. The team received a tip-off that a consignment of Ice, intended to be transported to the US and the UK, was scheduled to depart for Mumbai. The consignment was to arrive to Prefer Logistic Private Limited company in south Delhi’s Mahipalpur for packaging.
“A trap was laid and Avdhesh Kumar was caught red-handed with the contraband drug. He revealed that his manager Chandan Rai, 31, and their employer Amit Aggarwal, 40, a Chandigarh-based businessman, tempted him to join the syndicate. They were to be given Rs 1 lakh for every one kg of the drug transported,” DCP, Special Cell, Sanjeev Kumar said.
Aggarwal’s interrogation revealed that the consignment was sent by Aslam from Mumbai, who was nabbed on Tuesday. Aslam then said that he was employed by a cargo company in Dubai.
“Aslam came in touch with Rajput through common friends. By then, he had also opened a restaurant in Goa, where he had come in contact with drug traffickers from Goa and Mumbai. Aslam used to procure drugs from Rajput and supply them to local gangs and peddlers. The two then decided to come together. Aslam made Mumbai his base while Rajput expanded his network to drug traffickers in metropolitan cities — both in India and abroad. The duo supplied drugs through courier to contacts in France, Germany, the UK, Spain, and the US,” Yadav said.
Analysis
Delhi and Mumbai are fast becoming major transportation hubs for drugs to be transported to cities in India and abroad. The security forces must leave no stone unturned to end the scourge of addictive substances from the country.
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