Investigations into the seizure of 15,000 kg beef last week, which was allegedly being smuggled into Mumbai, have indicated that the arrested accused are habitual smugglers of the banned meat and part of a well-organised racket.
The accused, Nadeem Sayyed (42) and Abdul Latif Sheikh (44), were intercepted by the police at the Padgha toll booth in Thane district while their tempo was on its way to Mumbai from Sangamner in Ahmednagar district. A search of the vehicle revealed the meat hidden under scrap material. After lab tests confirmed that the meat was beef, the duo was arrested.
According to the Padgha police, the modus operandi and interrogation of the two men has indicated that they have made several beef runs in the past.
They told the police that they picked up the beef from a supplier named Wasim in Sangamner. The pick-up location was not specified; they were given vague instructions on the phone to go to a particular spot, where the meat was handed over to them. They concealed it under the scrap material they were already carrying, and started back towards Mumbai.
Search for suppliers
“The entire racket operates on trust, as it is highly dangerous, and this could not have been their first beef run. They said that they were going to deliver it to not one, but several meat sellers in Mumbai. We currently have teams working on identifying and apprehending these meat sellers,” an officer with the Padgha police said.
The police suspect that although Sanganmer was the pick-up location, it may not have been where the beef was produced.
“We are making inquiries with slaughterhouses in Sangamner in collaboration with the Ahmednagar police to find out if the beef was locally produced. However, we suspect that the suppliers might be based elsewhere and might have chosen Sangamner as the drop-off point to add a layer of security to the operation, which is another indicator that the racket is a highly organised one,” the officer said.
Phone records
The police are currently going through the frequently dialled numbers on Mr. Sayyed and Mr. Sheikh’s cell phones to identify the suppliers and intended recipients of the beef.
Inspector Bhaskar Pukale of the Padgha police station said, “We have certain leads regarding the source and the destination of the beef, and are working on them. The accused are currently in judicial custody.”
