PAN INDIAN SYNDICATE OF DRUG PEDDLERS BUSTED; 21 KG HEROIN AND 09 KG CRUDE METH, VALUED AT ABOUT 100 CRORES RECOVERED

The Special Cell of Delhi Police has been relentlessly working on international as well as inter-state drug cartels and has made sizeable recoveries in the past six months. Continuing its pursuit, on 20/05/2014, acting upon a specific input, a team of Special Cell led by Inspector Umesh Barthwal apprehended two drug traffickers namely Mohammed Sajid Zubair, s/o Md Zubair, r/o Sunita Niwas, Upper Trombay, Customs Road, Mumbai, Maharashtra and Noushad Abdul Rahiman, s/o Abdul Rahiman, r/o H.No. TC-63/223, Triveni Nagar, Poonthura Post, Trivandrum, Kerala from near the Shanti Stoop, Millennium Park, Sarai Kale Khan, New Delhi and recovered a total of 16 Kgs fine quality heroine and 09 Kgs of crude methamphetamine which was concealed beneath their wearing clothes. A case under the relevant sections of law was registered in this regard in PS Special Cell and investigation was taken up. During the course of investigation, on 24/05/2014, the team made spectacular arrests of Shahjahan Mohd. Yasin @ Karim @ Setha Bhai, s/o Mohd. Yasin, r/o G-Sector, Cheetah Camp, Trombay, Mumbai and Abdul Sattar @ Sheru, s/o Sardar Sheikh, r/o J-Sector, Cheetah Camp, Trombay, Mumbai and has made further recovery of 5 Kgs of fine quality heroin, thus taking the total recoveries in the case to 30 Kgs of contraband, valued at approximately 100 Crore Rupees in the international market. With the arrests of Karim and Sheru, the Special Cell has effectively neutralized an important arm of this trans-national drug syndicate involved in mass trafficking of high value narcotics across Kuwait, Dubai, Pakistan, Afghanistan, India and Sri Lanka.

OPERATION:

The arrests of Shurbir, Raghmeet and Autar Singh in the month of December 2013, which had led to the recovery of 49 Kgs of contraband, had exposed a vast international syndicate of producers/synthesizers/peddlers of high quality contraband which was spread over Kuwait, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Sri Lanka apart from India. This team of Special Cell kept relentlessly pursuing the leads which could be gathered and collated from the expanse of this network and kept diligently deploying its sources over the communications and movements of a large number of suspects. This led the team to a Mumbai based network which was a part of the larger syndicate which was involved in trans-border peddling of high quality drugs. Sources were deployed to identify the various members of this cartel and to keep a watch over their movements. On 20/05/2014, one of the deployed sources gave the specific information that two members of this cartel, who had picked up a consignment of drugs from near the Attari border, will be arriving in Delhi on their way back to Mumbai. Accordingly, a trap was laid and both the accused were arrested and recoveries amounting to a total of 25 Kgs of high quality contraband were effected from their possession. The arrested accused were produced before the concerned Court and 7 days Police Custody Remand was obtained to interrogate them further for understanding the true extent and depth of the syndicate for which they were operating. As per the information provided by these accused, they were acting on behalf of the syndicate headed by one Karim (alias name), based out of Cheetah Camp, Trombay, Mumbai. It was also learnt that one Sheru (alias name) was the main assistant to Karim. Based upon the information provided by the arrested accused, a team was sent to Mumbai to trace and apprehend Karim but he was found unavailable at his address. The team sent to Mumbai diligently developed local sources there and camped in the area to collate the inputs being provided by the sources based in Delhi with the information being generated regarding Karim and Sheru in Mumbai. This painstaking effort paid fruit when on 24/05/2014, a deployed source informed that Karim and Sheru had arrived in Delhi looking for their associates Sajid and Noushad and further that after receiving a consignment of drugs from a supplier somewhere in Paharganj area, they were expected to arrive at the Punjabi Bagh roundabout to receive another consignment before leaving Delhi for their way back to Mumbai. To act upon this information, a team was deployed to cover strategic locations around the Punjabi Bagh roundabout along with the arrested accused Noushad and Sajid, to identify Karim and Sheru as and when they arrive. In the forenoon hours, when Karim and Sheru arrived near the said location, they were identified by Noushad and Sajid and were swiftly apprehended by the team. A total of 5 Kgs of fine quality heroin was recovered from their possession.

PROFILE OF ACCUSED MOHD SAJID ZUBAIR:

Sajid Zubair was born in 1989 in Kalyan, Mumbai. His father used to run an Export-Import firm with his partners which went in loss and had to be closed. Thereafter, to earn his livelihood, he started working as a labor in a local hotel as a daily wager. Zubair has 2 younger brothers. He holds a Polytechnic Diploma in Electronics & Telecommunications from Anjuma-i-Islam, Panvel, Mumbai. With this professional diploma, he worked as a Business Development Officer with Excel Video Group for some time in 2008. Thereafter, he has worked in several BOPs in short stints and his last occupation was with one RAPS Modeling & Acting Academy in Mumbai. Of late, he was trying to scout for a job in the Middle East. Since VISA and other arrangements for Middle East required money, he contacted one known drug peddler who lived in his locality and offered to work for him. This drug peddler, sensing that Zubair with his educational background and smartness could be an asset for his syndicate, absorbed him and in January 2014, gave him his first task of visiting Delhi to collect a consignment. In January 2014, Zubair came to Delhi and collected a consignment of drugs from a supplier near the Rajouri Garden Metro Station. For this successful delivery, he was paid handsome money by his handler. From this money, Zubair travelled to Kuwait in April 2014 on a Khadim VISA (Labor VISA). There, he worked in the house of an Aamir who treated him like a slave. Fed up of the treatment being meted out to him, Zubair came back to India towards the end of April 2014 and rejoined his peddler associate. This time, his peddler associate got him introduced to the bigger syndicate operators of Mumbai and he was given a more demanding task of travelling up to the Indo-Pak border for collecting fresh consignments. He arrived in Delhi where his handlers paired him with another member of this syndicate namely Noushad who had arrived from Trivandrum. Together with this Noushad, Zubair travelled to Attari border and received the drug consignment. On his way back to Mumbai via Delhi, he was apprehended.

PROFILE OF ACCUSED NOUSHAD ABDUL RAHIMAN:

Noushad was born in 1979 in Vallakkadavu, Kerala. His late father was a driver who worked for a meager salary. His family of six persons used to live in great financial hardships. He has two brothers, one of whom runs an ornamental jewelry shop in Trivendram & the other one is working in Saudi Arabia. Noushad has passed B.Com (Bachelor of Commerce) from Kerala University in the year 2000. After completing studies, he worked in a cargo company in Vallakkadavu for 3 years. Thereafter, he worked in a readymade cloth shop for another 3-4 years and since then, has been employed in one furniture export company as a sales executive. Around 4 years ago, Noushad had come to Mumbai along with one of his friends for purchasing some clothes and there, he met a drug peddler who came across as a generous person. This peddler was a Tamilian and therefore, they developed good regional bonding. However, this meeting remained innocent and Noushad returned to his native place and resumed his regular employment. Since the last few months, he was facing a financial crunch and therefore, decided to renew his contact with this generous Tamilian friend with whom he was in general touch over the past years. When Noushad expressed his state of financial hardship, the peddler sensed the opportunity and against a promise of handsome margin, roped him into the trade of drug trafficking. The present task was his first assignment when he was asked to board a flight and to reach Delhi where he was paired up with Zubair. Together with this Zubair, Naushad travelled to Attari border and received the drug consignment. On his way back to Mumbai via Delhi, he was apprehended.

PROFILE OF ACCUSED ABDUL SATTAR @ SHERU:

Accused Mohammad Abdul Sattar @ Sheru was born at Cheetah Camp, Mumbai in 1988. His father used to work as a plumber and being an alcoholic, has been bed ridden for the last 11 years. Sheru grew up in adverse financial circumstances. He has studied till 9th standard from Ideal High School, Junior College, Custom Road, Trombay and thereafter, left studies to help his family. He worked as a driver in Voltas Company, Parel for around 2 years and thereafter, started plying an auto. In August 2013, one of his friends had introduced him to one Karim @ Setha Bhai, also a resident of Cheetah Camp, Trombay. Gradually, he became a close friend of Setha Bhai and one day, this Setha bhai told Sheru about his racket of drug trafficking and the huge profits that he was earning from it. Sheru requested Setha bhai to involve him in the drug racket as he wanted to earn easy money. In October 2013, Setha Bhai had sent him to Delhi along with one another member of the cartel to collect heroin. For this trip, he was paid handsomely. Thereafter, he came to Delhi on many other occasions on the direction of Setha Bhai for drug trafficking. In April 2014, Sheru had introduced his friend Sajid to Setha Bhai and Setha had roped in Sajid in the cartel. Since Sajid was having a passport, Setha Bhai used to send Sajid to Kuwait along with drugs neatly concealed in baggage. Gradually, Sheru became a trusted lieutenant of Setha Bhai and on 17/05/2014, he and Setha Bhai had sent Sajid & Noushad (both arrested) to Delhi via flight to collect drugs from Amritsar, Punjab. When Sajid and Noushad did not return to Mumbai after collecting 25 Kgs of contraband from Attari, Setha Bhai got suspicious and along with Sheru, came to Delhi to look for Sajid and Noushad. In Delhi, they collected a consignment of 5 Kgs heroin from a Sikh in Paharganj area and while they had gone to Punjabi Bagh to collect the remaining consignment, they were apprehended.

PROFILE OF ACCUSED SHAHJAHAN MOHD. YASIN @ KARIM @ SETHA BHAI:

Accused Shahjahan Mohd Yasin @ Karim @ Setha Bhai was born in 1977 in Mumbai. His father had expired in 1984. He has studied up to 7th class from Government School at Cheetah Camp, Mumbai. Initially, he used to ply auto rickshaw. About 15 years ago, he got his passport made and in 2007-2008, he visited Kuwait looking for a drivers’ job. He worked there for 4 years and returned to Mumbai as a deportee in 2010. Thereafter, he opened a Kiryana Shop in Cheetah Camp, Mumbai which is still running. In Kuwait, he had worked as a driver for several drug lords of Indian origin who were operating out of Kuwait. Two of his previous employers are presently lodged in Amumi jail of Kuwait in drugs cases. They both are operating from jail through conduits/carriers like himself and others. He was also arrested for possessing drugs in Kuwait after being jailed for 6 months, was deported to India.

While he was in Kuwait, his drug lord employers had introduced him with one Khalid, r/o Pakistan who had tasked him for trafficking drugs from Delhi to Mumbai in lieu of handsome profits. After being deported to India, he renewed his association with Khalid and started drug trafficking between Delhi and Mumbai. Since October 2013, he has trafficked a huge quantity of drugs between Delhi and Mumbai as an associate of Khalid and other Indian origin drug lords presently in Kuwaiti jails. With expanding business, he roped in Sheru, Sajid, Noushad (arrested) and many other carriers and also started trafficking drugs between India and Sri Lanka and Kuwait. In the latest incident, when Sajid and Noushad did not return to Mumbai after collecting 25 Kgs of contraband from Attari, he got suspicious and along with Sheru, came to Delhi to look for Sajid and Noushad. In Delhi, they collected a consignment of 5 Kgs heroin from a Sikh in Paharganj area and while they had gone to Punjabi Bagh to collect the remaining consignment, they were apprehended.

Further investigation of the case is in progress. Efforts are being made to identify and apprehend the other members of the syndicate especially Khalid of Pakistan and also the supplier of the contraband who had delivered the drugs at the Attari border as well as in Delhi.