ATS catch: 151 kg Meow Meow seized from Oshiwara apartment

The last big seizure was the one made by the Mumbai Police Crime Branch in March this year when 114 kilograms of Mephedrone was seized from the residence of constable Dharmaraj Kalokhe, who was subsequently arrested. Alleged drug peddler Shashikala alias Baby Patankar, from whom Kalokhe had reportedly received the consignment, was also arrested later. The drug, however, has been tested negative by the Kalina Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL).

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The counter-terrorism agency, whose mandate also includes registering cases under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, raided an apartment at the upmarket Ekdant CHS in Oshiwara that is known to house many starlets and upcoming actors.

According to sources, apartment 503 was taken on rent by one of the four accused and the drug was manufactured there. “Since the place where the drug was manufactured is close to many pubs and nightclubs, we are probing if the end receivers were these places,” said a senior official from the agency.

In all, 151 kg of the drug was seized — some part of it in liquid form, some in semi-crystalline and a large portion in the crystalline form. “June 26, which is observed as the International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, a meeting of various agencies involved in anti-narcotics operations took place. The ATS being the nodal agency for anti-narcotics operations in the state and also a part of the committee for anti-narcotics had participated in it. The menace and the wide reach of the drug were discussed after which all the units were asked to step up their vigil on Meow Meow,” said a source, adding, “We had input that Meow Meow is being manufactured in the flat. We raided that place and even found equipment and the drug.”

According to sources, the room was taken on rent by accused Sajid Electricwala (49) a month ago and since then he and the other three accused — Sachin Bagul (29), Chandrakant Katade (32) and Rahul Salunkhe (28) — had been manufacturing the banned substance in the flat. “We suspect that they took help of an expert in preparing the drug as it requires understanding of the chemicals and mixing them in the right proportion. We are on a lookout for these experts,” added the source.

The four accused were arrested under sections 22 and 29 of the NDPS Act and remanded in police custody until July 10.

The ATS suspects the involvement of the underworld. “The manner in which the drug was manufactured points towards a syndicate at play, and one of the angles we are probing is the role of the underworld in the case,” Inspector General of Police, ATS, Niket Kaushik told The Indian Express.

Piecing the supply and receiver chain, the police say more arrests are likely to take place. “One gram of the drug costs somewhere around Rs 6,000. We are also probing who the beneficiaries are and how deep the racket runs,” said the source.

Meanwhile, Electricwala has cases registered against him in Pune too.

Assistant Commissioner of police Bhanupratap Barge, who is in charge of the Pune ATS unit, said, “In 2006, a case of cheating was registered against Electricwala by some persons with whom he had financial dealings. Electricwala had registered a case of kidnapping against those persons. In 2013, he was booked by the Pune police for allegedly hacking into the phone messenger account of a woman and had circulated objectionable pictures of her.”

(With ENS, Pune)