The Anti Narcotics Cell (ANC) of the Mumbai Police Crime Branch has arrested two members of a cartel, allegedly responsible for 80% of the heroin supply in the city. ANC officers have also seized heroin worth ₹12 crore from them.
According to the officers, the accused have been identified as Rajesh Joshi (50) and Krushnamurti Kawander (42), both residents of Mumbai. Officers said they had been working on busting this gang for the last six months.
“Mr. Joshi and Mr. Kawander are at the second and third position in the gang hierarchy respectively. Mr. Joshi receives the heroin, which is sent from Rajasthan, and passes it on to Mr. Kawander, who then distributes it among the gang’s customers. Between them, the two men were carrying 6 kg of heroin when we intercepted them near Malad railway station on Saturday night,” Deputy Commissioner of Police Shivdeep Lande, ANC, said.
He said the head of the gang is based in south India, and the accused handle everything in Mumbai on his instructions. Efforts are still being made to get an exact fix on his location, with help from the local police and Central agencies. Officers said the gang had a wide customer base of drug peddlers from south Mumbai and the western suburbs.
“Mr. Kawander has worked out a system through which the drugs reach his clients within an hour and a half of them being delivered to him by Mr. Joshi. The system was in place to ensure that the two did not have the drugs on themselves for longer than necessary and can hence avoid being caught. According to our inquiries so far, there are at least four other layers of manpower working under Mr. Kawander,” an ANC officer, who was part of the operation, said.
The police are now trying to find out the people involved in the transportation of the drugs and the modus operandi. “Mr. Joshi, who was the sole receiver of every consignment, has not been cooperative in the interrogation. We are going through his call detail records to see if the last dialled numbers or his cellular movements on Saturday night can throw up any clues,” the officer said.
The duo has been charged under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act.
