The Aarey police suspect that Venkaya Karbuja, the alleged mastermind of the spurious toddy racket busted last week, was trying to expand his business before being caught with two others on May 1. The accused were allegedly found to be in possession of over 2,200 kg of chloral hydrate, a toxic chemical used to make synthetic toddy.
An officer, who is part of the investigation, said, “Investigations conducted so far indicate that around two months ago, Mr. Karbuja first obtained 30 kg of chloral hydrate from a source based in Gujarat. A month later, he bought 40 kg from the same source and used it to brew toddy. He bought a larger consignment at the end of April, leading us to suspect that he was launching a bigger operation this time.”
Police sources said that Mr. Karbuja, in his interrogation, claimed that he had obtained the chemical from the same source twice. However, the quantity in both instances was much lesser than the stash found on him at the time of arrest. The officer said that the consignment of choral hydrate was brought to Mumbai by road on the night of April 30 in 78 sacks, and the police believe that some of these were meant to be sold to other parties.
The officer said, “We are going through Mr. Karbuja’s Call Detail Records and making inquiries with all those who were in touch with him over the last couple of weeks. We suspect that at least four to five others were involved in carrying out the racket. Efforts are on to trace and apprehend them.”
Criminal past
The police suspect that the spurious toddy was being supplied to at least 250 toddy centres in the city, and that at least four to five suppliers are using chloral hydrate to brew toddy. Sources said that Mr. Karbuja has cases registered against him in Karim Nagar in Telangana. More information on his criminal record is being sought from the local police.
