Crime
Head of Dawood’s Drug Empire arrested; Sold Drugs through Food Delivery Agents
Mumbai police’s crime branch apprehended Aliasgar Shirazi, an associate of global narcotics kingpin Kailash Rajput, at Sahar International Airport in the early hours of Tuesday. Shirazi was apprehended while attempting to flee to Dubai.
Shirazi wanted in several drugs-related cases, had invested in Hustlers Hospitality
He was wanted in several cases of drug manufacture, production, trafficking, and distribution. He was the founder and Managing Director of Falisha Techno world, which invested ₹30 crores in Hustlers Hospitality to operate cloud kitchen startups. An in-depth investigation by The News Agency revealed an intricate web of front companies set up to channel profits of the narco trade into legitimate business for money laundering. He operated Falisha Venture Capital to invest in new startups and Pan Liner Freight Forwarders for narcotics trafficking in international courier parcels. “Falisha Group is a front for money laundering and drug distribution,” alleged senior crime branch officials.
Aliasgar had made significant investments in cloud kitchen startups with the intention of utilising online food delivery platforms for drug distribution. Senior crime branch officials explained the modus operandi of the narcotics network, stating, “Drug peddlers were provided with specific codes to place online food orders from 15 different brands operating within the same cloud kitchen. This method allowed them to have their preferred drugs delivered by online food aggregators, thus evading detection. The street peddlers then distributed the drugs to retail consumers.”
Big boss actors enlisted by Hustlers Hospitality,
The cloud kitchens were operated by Hustlers Hospitality, in which Aliasgar had invested over ₹30 crores and assumed the role of an additional director alongside promoters Krunal Oza and Dinesh Oza.
Hustlers Hospitality had enlisted a few struggling actors, including Big Boss contestant Abdu Rozik and Shiv Thakare, in an attempt to establish a chain of cafés as a facade for laundering drug money. Cafe Burgiir and Thakare’s Chai & Snacks were among the cafés operated by Aliasgar, serving as a front to expand drug distribution and legitimize the proceeds of narcotics. The two Big Boss contestants received a meager signing amount of ₹25 lakhs and were promised substantial royalties based on sales. The contracts, allegedly signed for ₹25 crore investments in the cafés, operated under the Abdu and Thakare brand names.
Mumbai Police is also investigating the involvement of a Mumbai-based advocate in facilitating the investment of narcotics funds belonging to Kailash Rajput and Aliasgar into Bollywood and fast food cafe chains.
Shirazi, Rajput were held in 2013, fled from India after bail
Aliasgar Shirazi and Kailash Rajput were apprehended by Sameer Wankhede, the Deputy Commissioner of Airport Customs, Air Intelligence Unit, back in 2013 during a seizure of 50 kgs of Meth and Ketamine. However, after obtaining bail, they managed to flee to the UAE initially and then later to Europe. Despite their arrests, the duo continued to operate their vast narcotics trafficking empire, involved in the manufacturing and distribution of drugs as part of the global drug trade.
In 2020, during the Covid-19 pandemic lockdown, Aliasgar’s name resurfaced when the Mumbai Police Property Cell discovered a significant drug consignment that was being trafficked through courier parcels. Another drug trafficker, Sajid Badshah Mirza, was apprehended in connection with the case. As a result, a lookout circular (LoC) and an Interpol Red Corner notice were issued for Aliasgar. The authorities were actively seeking his arrest in relation to the drug trafficking investigation.
Rajput involved in laundering drug money into Indian economy
According to another narcotics official, the kingpin of the Dawood drug empire, Kailash Rajput, is involved in laundering drug money into the Indian economy through a network of shell companies and fictitious business entities located in Dubai, UK, USA, Portugal, Australia, and Turkey. These funds are then channeled into various start-ups and venture capital seed funds. Allegedly, several hundred crores of narco money is laundered each week to finance legitimate businesses.
Hustlers Hospitality promoter Krunal Oza refrained from providing any comment regarding the allegations of drug money investments made by Aliasgar in his cloud kitchen business.
Crime
Navi Mumbai: Shiv Sena (UBT) Posts Viral Video Of Shinde Sena MLA Mahendra Thorve’s Bodyguard Assaulting Car Driver In Neral
Neral police on Wednesday arrested a man videographed of assaulting another man in a car, in the broad daylight. The incident that happened on September 7, came into light after the video went viral on social media, on Wednesday.
On Wednesday, @shivsenaUBT _ handle posted the 24 second video on X app and claimed that the assaulter was the bodyguard of Karjat MLA Mahendra Thorve. The video garnered over 83k views by evening. Even as UBT claimed the assaulter to be associated with MLA Thorve in Karjat, Thorve denied the claims.
“The incident happened on September 7 but the FIR was registered only on Wednesday after we traced the complainant. After we got the video, we traced the complainant with the help of the registration number of the vehicle. We registered the case and traced the accused from Kalyan and arrested him,” Raigad Superintendent of Police, Somnath Gharge, said. The accused identified as Shivaji Govind Sonawale (35) was nabbed from Kalyan. The complaint was registered by victim Amar Bandal.
“Prima facie, we haven’t found any political links of the accused. The accused has a criminal record as well,” said the police inspector Shivaji dhavale from Neral police station.
“Both the accused and the complainant were known to each other and the assault was in relation to damages caused to the accused’s vehicle earlier,” Gharge added.
Meanwhile, MLA Thorve denied the allegations made by UBT faction and informed media that the accused in the video was not his bodyguard. In a statement issued, Thorve accused UBT faction of intentionally trying to defame him.
Crime
Navi Mumbai: Customs Seize ₹11.40 Crore Cigarettes From Dubai Hidden In Gypsum Plaster Board Shipment
Mumbai: The Special Intelligence and Investigation Branch (SIIB) (I) at Jawaharlal Nehru Custom House (JNCH), Nhava Sheva, Navi Mumbai, has successfully intercepted and seized approximately 57,02,400 sticks of Foreign Origin Cigarettes worth Rs 11.40 crore imported from Dubai. The consignment, consisting of 40-footer container, was falsely declared as “Gipsam Plaster Board” and destined to ICD Sanathnagar, Hyderabad, officials said on Wednesday.
According to the Customs sources, upon a thorough check of the 18 pallets inside a 40-foot container, the customs officers discovered that around 400 cartons containing 57,02,2400 sticks foreign-origin cigarettes were concealed in the disguise of Gypsum Plaster Board.
“The modus operandi for smuggling cigarettes in gypsum plaster board involves concealing the contraband within specially crafted cavities inside the plaster board pallets. In this particular case, the foreign-origin cigarettes were hidden within the gypsum plaster board pallets in a 40-foot container. The smuggling technique involved creating concealed compartments or cavities inside the plaster boards, where the cigarette cartons were tightly packed. The shipment was falsely declared as a consignment of gypsum plaster boards, destined for a legitimate location. The concealment was so precise that only a detailed examination could uncover the hidden cigarettes,” said an official.
“By using everyday construction materials as a cover, the smugglers attempted to avoid detection, exploiting the high volume and weight of legitimate shipments of similar goods, which would typically attract less scrutiny,” the official said.
Crime
Mira-Bhayandar: Notorious Cat Burglar ‘Badu’ Held; Police Recover 13 Mobile Phones & Rs 92,000 In Cash
The crime detection unit attached to the Kashigaon police have arrested a notorious cat burglar who brazenly sneaked into homes during late night hours while occupants were fast asleep. The accused who has been identified as-Abdul Rehman Tahir alias Badu had recently broken into a tenement in the Mandvi Pada area of Kashimira and decamped with cash and mobile phones.
The occupants learnt about the theft only after they woke up in the morning and found their home ransacked and the latch of the door broken. An offence under the relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS)-2023 was registered at the Kashigaon police station against the unidentified thief and the case was assigned to the crime detection unit.
The unit under the supervision of senior police inspector- Rahul Kumar Patil visited the crime spot and gathered footage captured by closed circuit television (CCTV) cameras installed in the vicinity and possible getaway routes. On the virtue of the CCTV grabs and electronic surveillance, the unit apprehended Badu, a resident of Nallasopara who turned out to be a serial thief said to be involved in a spate of house break-in cases under the jurisdictions of the Mandvi and Mira Road police stations.
The unit also recovered 13 mobile phones and cash amounting more than Rs.92,000 from the possession of the accused who has been remanded to custody. Not ruling out his involvement in similar crimes in other areas as well, officials from the Kashigaon police station are conducting further investigations. Residents in the home were asleep during this incident and no one was harmed.
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