Mumbai: Dongri druglord’s Narcos-style life

Even before a team from the Narcotics Control Bureau NCB reached the cityrsquos most wanted drug lord Arif Bhujwalarsquos Dongri residence to conduct a raid last Wednesday he escaped from the spot Locals suspect that Bhujwala believed to be a close aide of Dawood Ibrahimrsquos brother Anees Ibrahim might have fled the country but the drug cops have denied the claim saying a Look Out Circular LOC had already been issued in his name According to the NCB Bhujwala became one of the biggest suppliers of Mephedrone in Mumbai and across the country over the past five years Sources in the NCB said that as per the initial investigation it has been found that he invested in property worth R100 crore and also owned multiple highend cars and bikes some of which the agency has seizedDrugs and cash seized from his factory in DongriFollowing a raid led by NCB Zonal Director Sameer Wankhede at Bhujwalarsquos Noor Manzil residence in Dongri the agency found that he was running a drug manufacturing factory just 700 metres from the Dongri police station According to the NCB he owns a dozen cars including Audi Mercedes BMW Pajero Toyota and Hyundai and highend bikes and electronic gadgets The cops have seized a Hyundai i10 Toyota SUV and scooty After getting details of the vehicles owned by him the NCB asked the RTO to cancel their registrations So far the agency has got details about four flats two shops and a 33acre agricultural land owned by him According to them the plot is worth around Rs 3040 croreCar missingAfter the agency received a tip off about one of his BMW cars and scooters parked at the Sassoon Dock they rushed to the spot and told the staff that they would seize the vehicles and asked them to ensure that nobody took them away The cops did not lock the wheels to keep the operation a secret ldquoWhen we went back to the spot the next day the car was not there We found only the scooterrdquo an NCB officer saidCops recovered a revolverOn asking the parking manager he said that a number of vehicles move in and out daily and someone must have taken away the car in the midst of all of that The agency has collected CCTV footage from the spot and are on the lookout for the person who drove away the carldquoTo evade the police Bhujwala never purchased property in his name Most of what we have identified is in his wife Anwar Parirsquos name whose statement was recorded on Sunday The process will continue on Monday as wellrdquo said an NCB officerCash amounting to almost Rs 218 crore and drugs from Arif Bhujwalarsquos residence and factory in DongriInvestigation has also revealed that he does not have any social media accounts and would change sim cards every two days ldquoWe will be writing to the Mumbai Police soon to get further details about him and whether any criminal cases have been registered against himrdquo the officer addedChinku Pathan grandson of the late underworld don Karim Lala who was recently arrestedChinkursquos arrestFollowing the arrest of Parvez Khan alias Chinku Pathan grandson of late underworld don Karim Lala the NCB thought he was the kingpin of the drug racket in the city but his interrogation led them to Bhujwala Probe has revealed that hundreds of drug suppliers worked under Bhujwala and similarly Chinku was helping him to expand his business ldquoBhujwala built his empire in the last five years and has managed to escape arrest by multiple agenciesrdquo the officer saidAccording to the officer a diary that they recovered during the raid reveals that Bhujwala was selling drugs worth Rs 80 to Rs 90 lakh daily The agency has also found that the total cost of procuring processing and manufacturing 1 kg of MD was R1 lakh which he used to sell to the peddlers for about Rs 810 lakh The suppliers would then sell those to their customers at Rs 1500 to Rs 2000 per gm and earned Rs 15 to Rs 20 lakh from each kg of MDDuring the raid the cops recovered a revolver and cash amounting to almost Rs 218 crore Further they seized 569 kg of MD 1 kg of Methamphetamine 6126 kg of Ephedrine and a huge stash of packing materials utensils weighing scales and other apparatus used to manufacture drugsMultiple CCTV camerasSources in the NCB said that Bhujwala was operating like Columbian drug lord Pablo Escobar and had covered the entire building and lab with multiple CCTV cameras to evade the police ldquoHis men used to keep a close watch on movements near the building They would inform him even if an unknown vehicle was spotted approaching the building a kilometre awayrdquo the officer added Till now the NCB has arrested a total of five people linked to Bhujwala On Saturday the officials nabbed a Bhiwandibased jeweller Vicky Jain who allegedly financed Bhujwalarsquos business Jain was produced in holiday court on Sunday and remanded to NCB custody till January 27 During Chinkursquos interrogation the NCB got to know about another supplier in Punersquos Khadakwasla But accused Raju Sonawane managed to escape even before the cops reached the spotRs 100 crValue of property Bhujwala has invested in