Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime) Amarsingh Jadhav said that based on the information, a police team laid a trap on the Nashik-Thane highway near Ranjanoli and intercepted two cars on August 9
The Thane city police's crime branch had received a tip-off about the matter. Representational Pic/File
The Thane Police have seized more than 15 kg of mephedrone worth Rs 31.8 crore from two cars on a highway in Maharashtra's Thane district and arrested two men with criminal antecedents, an official said on Tuesday, reported the PTI.
The Thane city police's crime branch had received a tip-off about the delivery of the contraband near Ranjanoli on the Bhiwandi Bypass Road, he said.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime) Amarsingh Jadhav said that based on the information, a police team laid a trap on the Nashik-Thane highway near Ranjanoli and intercepted two cars on August 9.
Both the accused, Tanveer Ahmed Qamar Ahmed Ansari (23), a resident of Mumbra, and Mahesh Hindurao Desai (35), a resident of Vitthalwadi, were inside the car, he said, adding that they have multiple cases against them, according to the PTI.
"At least 11.7 kg of mephedrone were recovered from Ansari's car, while 4.161 kg of the contraband was seized from Desai's BMW," the official said, the news agency reported on Tuesday.
He said that the BMW bore the logo of the Thane Municipal Corporation on the rear, and the police are probing the presence of the sticker, while Ansari was driving a stolen car.
According to the police, Ansari is linked to several crimes in Bhiwandi, while Desai, who originally hails from Kolhapur, is booked in multiple cases there, including under the NDPS Act and MCOCA, as per the PTI.
"Preliminary investigations suggest the drugs were meant for distribution in Thane and Mumbai. We are probing the supply chain to identify the source and wider network," DCP Jadhav said.
An FIR under the provisions of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act has been registered with the Kongaon police station of Bhiwandi division.
Two held after seizure of 20 kg ganja from their lugguage at Kalyan station in Maharashtra
Meanwhile, in an another incident, the police have arrested two men after seizing more than 20 kg of ganja valued at Rs 5.18 lakh concealed in their lugguage at Kalyan railway station in Maharashtra's Thane district, an official said on Sunday, as per the PTI.
A team of the Government Railway Police during patrolling found the movements of the two persons suspicious after they alighted from the Bhubaneswar-Lokmanya Tilak Terminus Superfast Express at Kalyan on Friday evening, GRP's Senior Police Inspector Vijay Khedekar said.
The two were intercepted and during their checking, the police found 20.685 kilograms of ganja hidden in their lugguage, he said.
The men, identified as Akmal Khan Mohammad Yamin Khan (30) and Abid Majid Shaikh (23), both residents of Mumbra in Thane, were arrested and booked under relevant provisions of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, the official said.
Preliminary inquiries suggested the duo may have procured the contraband from outside Maharashtra, he said.
"We are probing the exact source of the ganja and identifying the intended recipients. The supply chain and possible interstate links are under investigation," he said, the news agency reported.
(with PTI inputs)
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