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.

Mumbai: Self-styled godman Ashok Kharat was on Wednesday remanded to Enforcement Directorate (ED) custody till May 26 after the agency told the court it needed to probe cash flow through proxy accounts, his foreign trips, luxury cars and properties.

Kharat was produced before the special court a day after his arrest. ED prosecutor Arvind Aghav sought 10 days’ custody, claiming the agency was investigating 60 proxy accounts allegedly opened at the Rahata branch of Samata Nagari Cooperative Credit Society in the names of several people without their knowledge.

The ED told the court that transactions worth ₹47.74 crore were conducted through the 60 accounts linked to 48 special savings accounts. These included cash credits of ₹21.26 crore and cash debits of ₹23.87 crore. According to the agency, all transactions were kept below ₹2 lakh to bypass Know Your Customer (KYC) norms.

The agency alleged that cash was deposited and withdrawn by Kharat and his associate Arvind Bawake using pre-signed withdrawal slips obtained from account holders.

Asked by the court to explain his position, Kharat said, “I had cash that I wanted to deposit in a nationalised bank. However, the bank management approached me with a higher interest rate of 9%. Hence, I accepted their proposal.” He also claimed he was unaware of how so many accounts had been opened in his name.

The ED also referred to the statement of Omprakash Koyate alias Kaka Koyate, chairman of Samata Sahakari Patsanstha, recorded on May 7. According to the agency, Koyate admitted that cash deposits were converted into fixed deposits and later withdrawn.