Mumbai: Police have arrested 19 people so far in connection with the stone-pelting and violence that erupted during the massive anti-encroachment demolition drive at Garib Nagar in Bandra East, even as Western Railway said nearly 90 per cent of the demolition work has now been completed.

According to police officials, 15 accused were produced before the Bandra court on Thursday and were remanded to police custody till May 26. Three more accused are scheduled to be produced before the court on Friday, while one minor detained in the case has been sent to the Children’s Remand Home. Police said the investigation is still underway and more arrests are likely in the coming days.

The violence had broken out earlier this week after tensions escalated during the demolition of alleged illegal structures near Bandra Terminus. Stone-pelting incidents and clashes with police had turned the area tense, leaving several police personnel injured and prompting authorities to register cases against over 100 people.

Meanwhile, Western Railway’s large-scale anti-encroachment operation continued for the fourth consecutive day on Friday under heavy security deployment. The drive is being jointly carried out by Western Railway, Mumbai Police, civic officials and railway security agencies to ensure law and order is maintained throughout the operation.

Addressing the media, Western Railway Chief Public Relations Officer Vineet Abhishek said proactive arrangements had been made to ensure the demolition process remains smooth, safe and efficient. He stated that around 90 per cent of the demolition work had been completed by the end of Day 3.

“In contrast to the riot-like situation witnessed on Wednesday, Thursday’s demolition drive remained peaceful,” officials said. Nearly 1,100 personnel and 13 machines were deployed on Thursday for what is being described as Western Railway’s biggest anti-encroachment drive in recent years.

Authorities said the operation is now focused on dismantling softer structures and upper-floor portions built above eligible hutments, while ensuring that ground-floor rehabilitation-eligible structures are not damaged.

Officials added that debris removal operations are continuing round-the-clock. “Work does not stop at night and debris-clearing continues continuously,” the railway spokesperson said.

The demolition drive is expected to continue till May 23, after which reduced manpower will remain on-site for post-demolition clearance and fencing work to prevent fresh encroachments on railway land.

Navi Mumbai, May 21: In a major crackdown against narcotics trafficking under the ‘Nasha Mukt Bharat 2028’ campaign, the Navi Mumbai Police Crime Branch arrested three Nigerian nationals during a combing operation in Vashi’s Juhugaon area and seized high-grade cocaine worth Rs 1.26 crore.

The Anti-Narcotics Cell conducted simultaneous raids at four locations in Juhugaon after receiving specific information that a group of Nigerian nationals was stockpiling narcotics for distribution.

During the operation, police raided a house at Hariyali Nivas (House No. 522/3) and apprehended the main accused, identified as Oliver Okechukwu Ugwu (47).

“During the search, we recovered two separate packets containing cocaine-like white powder weighing 146.8 grams and 105.7 grams respectively, collectively valued at Rs 1.26 crore. The total quantity of the seized contraband was 252.5 grams,” police said.

Based on Ugwu’s interrogation, police identified and arrested two more alleged members of the drug racket — Maduyabuki Cosmos Igweoma (49) and Enosent Dada Lavians (35) — from Kopri village.

All three accused were produced before a court, which remanded them to police custody till May 22.

Apart from the cocaine, police also seized 12 expensive mobile phones of different brands and cash allegedly used in the operation.

Police said two more accused, identified as Simian Ekene and Emmanuel Onoyonam, are wanted in the case and efforts are underway to trace them.

Officials are now probing the wider network of the international drug syndicate and investigating who the accused intended to supply the narcotics to in Navi Mumbai.

The investigation is being led by Senior Police Inspector Sandeep Nigde, in-charge of the Anti-Narcotics Cell.

The operation was carried out under the guidance of Assistant Commissioner of Police Dharmapal Bansode by a team comprising Senior Police Inspector Prithviraj Ghorpade, Police Inspector Sandeep Nigde, Assistant Police Inspectors Nilesh Dhumal, Devendra Ovhal, Tushar Mane, Yogesh Deshmukh and other officers.

Mumbai: In the ₹225 crore cryptocurrency racket allegedly linked to terror funding, the dark web, and narcotics trafficking unearthed in Gujarat, nine persons have been arrested, including Zeeshan Motiwala from Mumbai.

According to the cybercrime police, six accused, including Motiwala, allegedly entered into a criminal conspiracy and carried out multiple cryptocurrency transactions. Investigators claimed that Motiwala’s Binance wallet was linked to 57 bank accounts, with transactions amounting to USD 2,355,393.

The agency alleged that the accused converted “dirty” cryptocurrency into USDT and routed the funds through various channels to allegedly reach terrorist organisations.

During the probe, officials traced transactions worth Rs226.54 crore through seized crypto wallets and are now attempting to identify additional wallets and cryptocurrency networks linked to the group.

Investigators said the funds, suspected to be connected to terrorist activities, drug trafficking, smuggling, cybercrime, and other illegal operations, were internally transferred between wallets operated by the accused.

The agency further claimed that some wallets were linked to financial transaction chains associated with Hamas and the Dubai Company for Exchange, entities designated by Israel as terror-linked organisations.

Officials also stated that analysis of the Binance wallets revealed links to Abacus Market, a dark web marketplace allegedly used for criminal activities. The accused are also suspected to have used Monero wallets to conceal fund trails.

Officials found that the wallets were connected to several bank accounts allegedly used to receive proceeds from cyber frauds. According to the agency, at least 935 complaints of cheating and fraud have been linked to these accounts.