24 May,2026 02:26 PM IST | Mumbai | Aishwarya Iyer
Accused Iqbal Mohammed Ali Sheikh was taken into custody by Mumbai Ant-Narcotics Cell (Pic/Special arrangement)
In a major crackdown on repeat narcotics offenders, the Mumbai Anti-Narcotics Cell (ANC) on Sunday detained a 36-year-old Dharavi resident under the stringent Prevention of Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (PIT-NDPS) Act, 1988.
As per the officials, the accused has been arrested for allegedly continuing drug trafficking activities despite multiple arrests and securing bail.
The accused has been identified as Iqbal Mohammed Ali Sheikh, a resident of Kumbharwada in Dharavi. The officials asserted that he was taken into custody and lodged at Yerwada Central Jail on Sunday, where he will remain under preventive detention for one year.
According to officials from the ANC's Worli Unit, during the investigation, police scrutinised his criminal record and found that he was allegedly a habitual offender with eight narcotics-related cases registered between 2020 and 2025.
The cases include multiple offences registered at Dharavi Police Station, cases at Sakinaka Police Station, and one registered by the ANC's Worli Unit.
Officials said a chargesheet had already been filed in the case. However, despite repeated arrests and prosecution, Sheikh allegedly resumed involvement in illegal narcotics activities after obtaining bail.
Based on a proposal submitted by the ANC's Worli Unit, the Maharashtra Home Department approved the preventive detention order under the PIT-NDPS Act.
The officials further said that Iqbal's arrest marks the seventh preventive detention action initiated by the Anti-Narcotics Cell this year against alleged repeat drug traffickers as part of its intensified campaign to curb the narcotics network in Mumbai.
