Mumbai: A couple from Navi Mumbai has been arrested by the Customs Department at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) for allegedly smuggling hydroponic weed worth Rs 5.45 crore from Colombo. The accused, identified as Mohammed Saud Siddiqui (29) and his wife Sana Siddiqui (27), were detained by the Air Intelligence Unit (AIU) after a tip-off about a suspicious trolley bag they were carrying.

Officials said that when the couple’s baggage was checked, three airtight packets were found hidden inside. On testing the contents, officers confirmed the packets contained five kilograms of banned hydroponic marijuana, a high-grade variant of cannabis.

However, the couple has claimed innocence, stating they were victims of a scam. While presenting their case in court, the Siddiquis said they had received an offer of a free trip to Colombo through social media.

Believing it to be genuine, they accepted the offer, completed visa formalities, and flew to Sri Lanka. On their return, the person who had arranged the trip gave them a parcel of chocolates to deliver in Mumbai. They alleged they were unaware that the parcel contained drugs.

Their lawyer, Advocate Sunil Tiwari, told the court that the couple had been trapped in a fabricated case and had no knowledge of the contents of the parcel. “An unknown person used social media to lure them with a free holiday and made them unwilling carriers,” he said.

The Customs Department has booked the couple under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act. They were produced before a local court on Monday and have been remanded in judicial custody until October 28 while investigations continue.

Mumbai: The Colaba Police have arrested a 71-year-old man who had been absconding for 48 years in an attempt-to-murder case registered in 1977. The accused, identified as Chandrashekhar Madhukar Kalekar, was wanted in Crime case was registered in 1977 under Section 307 of the Indian Penal Code, in connection with an attack on a woman with a sharp weapon.

Chandrashekhar Kalekar, When he was almost 22-Year-old, accused of attempting to murder a woman by stabbing her with a knife. A case was registered at the Colaba Police Station, and the trial was scheduled before the Sessions Court, Mumbai. However, Kalekar failed to appear for the hearings and was subsequently declared a proclaimed offender by the court.

The accused had been on the run since 1977. His old residence, Haji Kasam Chawl, Lalbaug, had been demolished years ago, and he kept changing his whereabouts — moving across Santacruz, Goregaon, Mahim, Lalbaug, and Badlapur — making it difficult for the police to trace him.

Over the past six months, a special team from Colaba Police launched a renewed effort to track him down. Using data from the Election Commission portal, RTO records, and court databases, officers discovered that Kalekar had been living in Karanjani village, Dapoli, Ratnagiri district.

Acting under the guidance of senior officers, a police team visited Dapoli with the help of local police. On the night of October 13–14, Kalekar was found hiding in a house in Karanjani. Upon interrogation, he confessed to being involved in the 1977 crime case. He was subsequently brought to Mumbai and re-arrested in the same case.

The accused had an affair with the victim when he was 22 years old. However, Accused by suspicion that his lover was involved with another man, the accused carried out the attack on her in 1977.

The accused was medically examined and produced before the 10th Sessions Court, Mumbai, for further legal proceedings. This operation Led By Under the supervision of Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone I), Mumbai Dr. Pravina Mundhe.

Mumbai: The Enforcement Directorate (ED), Mumbai Zone II, on Tuesday conducted search operations at 13 locations in Gujarat as part of a money laundering investigation linked to the alleged Q-Fon App digital investment scam.

According to ED officials, searches were carried out at 10 locations in Ahmedabad and three in Surat, along with a few premises in Mumbai. The raids were conducted under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, against Q-Fon App Limited and its directors in connection with a large-scale financial scam involving public investments. The searches targeted premises linked to the company’s directors and related entities suspected of receiving investors’ money.

The search was ongoing at all the three locations until the report was published and no information about any arrests or seizures was shared.

The ED action follows an FIR registered by the Economic Offences Wing (EOW), Thane, on December 28, 2024. The FIR alleged that Q-Fon App Limited, along with associated entities and directors including Sudhir Kotadiya, floated a Ponzi-style digital investment scheme claiming to generate earnings from online advertisements.

Investigation revealed that the accused promised investors unusually high returns, ranging between 2% and 10.5% per month. They collected huge sums from the public through cash deposits and online transfers routed via accounts of linked individuals and entities. The funds were allegedly siphoned off, and the accused later absconded with the investors’ money.

The Q-Fon App scam, which came to light following multiple complaints from duped investors, is part of a growing trend of app-based ponzi operations exploiting digital platforms to defraud citizens.

Officials said the fraudulent network, operating out of Ahmedabad, lured hundreds of investors across Maharashtra. The EOW FIR alleged that the scheme was led by Jay Sukhbhai Sakhia, also known as Patel, along with associates Umang Thathadia, Anant Patel, Sanjaybhai Sarithi Thathadia, and Saddubhai Dushyantbhai Thathadia. They reportedly collected crores of rupees via cash deposits and online transfers routed through linked entities.

According to an investor’s statement, the scam’s origins trace back to May 2020, when the accused introduced the “Digital Investment App” during one of the meetings. “They claimed to be running a legitimate business from Ahmedabad, assuring investors of monthly profits in US dollars through a mobile app available on the Google Play Store,” the investor told investigators.

The accused allegedly convinced participants of the scheme’s authenticity by claiming to have “connections within the Thane and Mumbai police.” Several meetings were held in Thane, Mumbai, Panvel, and Ahmedabad to persuade investors to contribute to what was described as a “secure digital earning platform.”

Later, victims discovered that the operation was a ponzi scheme, and the accused disappeared after collecting crores of rupees. The Thane EOW arrested Parag Ashok Kumar Shah, a key accused in the case, in June. Sources said that Shah, a small businessman from Narayangaon near Pune, had conspired with other businessmen from Gujarat to execute the scam.

ED sources added that the Ahmedabad-based network, operating under the guise of a “digital investment platform,” is suspected to be part of a larger pan-India ponzi racket, which defrauded investors across multiple states before vanishing without a trace.