Navi Mumbai Police invoke MCOCA against drug trafficking gang in first major crackdown under new law

Navi Mumbai Police have invoked the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act MCOCA against a drug trafficking gang an officer said on ThursdayThis marks the firstofitskind crackdown since the Maharashtra government on July 8 officially classified the manufacture possession transport and sale of narcotics as offences under the category of ldquoorganised crimesrdquo news agency PTI reportedThe move signals a tougher approach by law enforcement agencies in the state to tackle the growing menace of drug networks by using more powerful legal tools available under MCOCAOn July 11 the Navi Mumbai Polices Anti Narcotics Cell had conducted a raid on a flat in Digha leading to the arrest of Usha Roshan Naik Shailash Basanna Naik alias Pillu Jyoti Nilesh Naik Nilesh Basanna Naik Roshan Basanna Naik and Shantabai Kisan Karandekar for the alleged possession of 252 grams of mephedrone worth Rs 7569 lakh the officer saidA case under the NDPS Act and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita was registered at the time at Rabale police station A probe showed the gang under Shantabai Kisan Karandekar was engaged in largescale drug trafficking for several years It was also involved in crimes like murder assaults the official informedOn the directives of Navi Mumbai Police Commissioner Milind Bharambe it was decided to invoke the MCOCA provisions against the drug trafficking gang an official release said adding that citizens can assist in the fight against narcotics by providing information on the dedicated helpline number 8828112112Mumbai cyber cops bust international job scam victims were forced into cyber slavery says policeMumbais South Cyber Police Station officials on Wednesday said that they have arrested a 28yearold man allegedly involved in trafficking Indian job seekers to Southeast Asia and forcing them into cyber slaveryThe accused identified as Salman Munir Sheikh was nabbed from Nayanagar in Mira Road on Wednesday following a monthslong manhuntPolice said that Sheikh allegedly lured young Indians with promises of lucrative overseas jobs only to hand them over to Chinese syndicates running fraudulent call centres in LaosAccording to officials the case began in August 2024 when a resident of Antop Hill approached the police While searching for a data entry job on LinkedIn the complainant came into contact with Sheikh who offered him a job in Thailand with a promised salary of Rs 70000 per month Trusting the offer the complainant and his friend each paid Rs 30000 for visas and ticketsOn February 9 2024 Sheikh accompanied them to Bangkok along with three other recruits From there with the help of a Chinese woman he transported all five jobseekers across the border into Laos where he handed them over to a Chinese handler Their passports were seized and they were forced to carry out online scams and extortion activities via WhatsApp Facebook and InstagramldquoThey were held captive and told to pay 20000 Chinese Yuan approximately Rs 23 lakh as ransom for their release When one of them was unable to arrange the money Sheikh allegedly trafficked two more Indians in exchange for freeing himrdquo said a senior police officialThe victim eventually returned to India and filed a complaint Based on confidential inputs police traced Sheikh to Mira Road where he was arrestedWith PTI inputs