Mumbai, Apr 7 (PTI) The Mumbai Crime Branch arrested an ‘angadiya’ (traditional courier) in connection with the mephedrone factory bust in Sangli recently, a police official said on Sunday.
Angadiya Jesabhai Motabhai Mali was held after a probe found the Rs 3.46 crore recovered from a house in Bhiwandi in neighbouring Thane district was given to the main accused by him, the official said.
The police had seized 122.5 kilograms mephedrone worth Rs 252 crore after the factory in Irali village in Sangli, which was surrounded by vineyards, was raided.
So far, 11 persons have been arrested, including main accused Pravin Shinde, who hails from Tasgaon in Sangli and resides in Mira Road near Mumbai.
“Our probe has found Shinde visited Uttar Pradesh to seek training in mephedrone production before setting up a lab in Irali village along with his aides on a 12-acre plot,” the official said.
We have arrested 11 persons and recovered 126.41 kilograms of mephedrone worth Rs 252.55 crore, said Deputy Commissioner of Police (Detection) Datta Nalawade.
“The syndicate was operating for the past seven months and had established its own distribution network. We seized raw materials and equipment to produce mephedrone from the Sangli factory,” he said. PTI ZA BNM
