One more arrested in red sanders smuggling case

The Mumbai police have arrested one person in connection with a red sanders smuggling racket that was busted last year.

The racket was busted in December last year in a joint operation by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) and the Coast Guard in the Arabian Sea, where 23 tons of red sanders worth Rs nine crore was seized. The DRI had at that time arrested 16 people and seized two vessels. The case was transferred to the Crime Branch Unit III, who went on to arrest history-sheeter Mohammed Ali Abu Bakr Sheikh along with two others, bringing the total number of arrested accused to 19.

On Tuesday night, the Crime Branch made its 20th arrest in the case, nabbing an accused identified as Rahim Baba from the Dongri area.

The Crime Branch is now interrogating Baba to get more details about the racket.

Meanwhile, the Crime Branch has eliminated Andhra Pradesh as the possible source of the red sanders and is now focusing solely on Karnataka.