Mumbai synthetic drug racket: NCB secures conviction of five, attaches Rs 6.5 cr worth assets

The Narcotics Control Bureau said on Thursday that it has secured the conviction of five accused in a major synthetic drug trafficking case in Mumbai and attached assets worth more than Rs 6.5 crore linked to the illegal trade.

The case involved the trafficking of Mephedrone (MD), Methamphetamine and precursor chemicals, along with large-scale laundering of drug proceeds and possession of illegal firearms, the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) said in a statement.

A special NDPS court in Thane on May 19 sentenced Mohammed Arif Yaqoob Bhujwala to 15 years' imprisonment along with a fine of Rs 2 lakh, the statement said.

Three other accused – Parvez Khan alias Chinku Pathan, Mohammed Salman Khan and Vikrant Jain – were awarded five-year jail terms each with fines of Rs 50,000, while Haris Faizullah Khan was sentenced to one year in jail and fined Rs 10,000, it said.

The case dates back to January 20, 2021, when NCB officers in Mumbai apprehended Parvez Khan from Ghansoli in Navi Mumbai and recovered 52.2 grams of Mephedrone, an unlicensed pistol with five live rounds, cash suspected to be drug proceeds, and gold ornaments allegedly purchased using illicit earnings.

Subsequent investigation led the agency to Bhujwala, who was allegedly operating ''an organised synthetic drug trafficking network'' from Mumbai's Chinchbunder area.

Raids conducted at multiple premises linked to him resulted in the seizure of 5.375 kg of Mephedrone, 990 grams of Methamphetamine and 6.126 kg of Ephedrine, which the NCB described as ''a controlled precursor chemical extensively used in the manufacture of synthetic narcotic drugs''.

The agency said the operation ''ultimately led to the dismantling of a well-established synthetic drug trafficking syndicate operating across the Mumbai Metropolitan Region''.

As part of the financial probe, the authorities attached movable and immovable assets worth over Rs 6.5 crore under the Smugglers and Foreign Exchange Manipulators (Forfeiture of Property) Act framework, with the NCB saying the action helped ''cripple the financial ecosystem sustaining the drug trafficking syndicate''.

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