There are at least 30 big-time cocaine suppliers and over 150 dealers in Mumbai who cater to high society customers on a regular basis.
The death of Pramod Mahajan’s aide Vivek Moitra and Rahul Mahajan’s collapse after an alleged drug overdose has brought the focus back to the dangerous co-existence of death and high life linked by cocaine.
There are at least 30 big-time cocaine suppliers and over 150 dealers in Mumbai who cater to high society customers on a regular basis. According to sources, one kg of cocaine costing nearly Re1 crore is sold in the city daily.
Most dealers have been arrested in the past. However, once out on bail or on being acquitted, they get back to their lucrative drug stream. Many operate from tourist-infested areas of Colaba. Several others do business from Bandra and Juhu. Kader Pehlwan of Chor Bazaar is considered to be the kingpin of the cocaine racket. The drug is carried in stuffed condoms concealed in the rectum, sources in the Narcotics Control Bureau NCB) said. Sudanese, Nigerian and Kenyan students are often used by the cartels to smuggle in the costly drug.
One Sahil operates from near Rex Hotel, behind Taj, while Sunil Shetty and Sanju run business from near the National Hotel in Fort. Irfan Gazali, Nasir and Tony Gomes also operated from the same area, NCB sources said.
Hanif Mendak and Shaboo Gadga, who operate from Dongri, specialise in using African tourists and students for transporting cocaine. Illyas, alias Ilu, and Nasir ‘Mobile’ have their operations in Bandra and Juhu, say sources.
After Fardeen Khan was arrested trying to buy coke outside an ATM, most steer clear of banks and ATMs. The police admit that rich young boys and girls are hooked to cocaine, but say the instances are too many to thwart. Says Amarjeet Singh Cheema, DCP, Narcotics, Delhi, “At places like discothèques and rave parties we have decent chances to find out, but if it happens in the privacy of a home there is nothing one can do. It is very difficult to deter them.”
Cocaine regulars at Delhi parties generally use washroom counters to make their lines before snorting it through currency notes. But, according to some, there is more fun in experimenting with more potent combinations. “It’s always a no-no to mix alcohol and cocaine but some do it for a high. But one has to be careful about bad drugs. Coke is often mixed with urea, which can be poisonous. It is also confused with Chinawhite, which can be fatal if snorted. That is probably what happened to Vivek and Rahul,” said a Delhi coke addict.
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