Sushant case: NCB detains drug dealer in Mumbai
September 02, 2020 10:32
The Narcotics Control Bureau on Tuesday detained an alleged contraband dealer who has "links" with its probe in the drugs trafficking case pertaining to the death case of actor Sushant Singh Rajput, officials said.
The man, who has not been identified, apprehended by the federal anti-narcotics agency is understood to be involved in the supply of narcotics in the high-end party circles of Mumbai.
He is expected to be arrested by the NCB on Wednesday after his questioning gave the agency sleuths some "vital leads" into the narcotics case registered against Rajput's live-partner Rhea Chakraborty and others, they said.
The agency last week arrested two men for alleged drug trafficking in the western metropolis and it is understood that the leads against the detained man came after questioning them.
A special NCB team from Delhi, headed by deputy director (operations) K P S Malhotra, is camping in Mumbai to take forward this probe. The team also includes agency officers from Mumbai and has been constituted by NCB Director General Rakesh Asthana.
The agency filed a case under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act after the Enforcement Directorate, also probing the death case of the 34-year-old actor, shared with it a report after it cloned two mobile phones of Rhea.
As per officials, the mobile phone chats and messages indicated procurement and consumption of drugs and these leads were shared by the ED with the NCB and the CBI.
The NCB, as part of a linked operation, also seized about 3.5 kgs of bud or curated marijuana from foreign post offices in Delhi and Mumbai.
Officials said the operation in Mumbai led them to a Goa-based man identified as F Ahmed who works as a driver at a prominent resort in the coastal state.
"Ahmed was supplying bud to some prominent receiver at Bangalore who has linkages with page 3 celebrities," an NCB officer said.
An intensive operation has been conducted against the illegal import of curated marijuana (bud), which is primarily sourced from USA and Canada, and has huge market demand in Mumbai, he said.
While the seizure made in Delhi was destined for Mumbai, the one made in Mumbai was sourced from Canada and destined for Goa, the officer said.��
"The widespread use and demand of bud in Mumbai region has jacked up the prices in the grey market and it has huge pecuniary gains in the trafficking. The sourcing of the bud is primarily through the darknet and cryptocurrency which provides layers of anonymity to buyers and sellers," the NCB officer said.
In the Delhi seizure, he said, the source of the bud was found to be the US.
"The consignee of the contraband was based in Delhi but was misguided by his contact at Mumbai that some legal stuff was being procured from the US and it was to be collected by Mumbai-based persons, whose search is underway," the officer said. -- PTI
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