Mumbai: Authorities have claimed the seizure of banned gutkha worth ₹1.18 crore within the jurisdiction of the Bhandup Police Station. Acting on a tip-off regarding the transportation and sale of banned gutkha and scented betel nut, the Senior Police Inspector of Bhandup Police Station dispatched Assistant Police Inspector Vinod Lad and his team to verify the information and take action. Based on the intelligence received, the team laid a trap and conducted a raid on September 12 at approximately 4:25 AM at the Municipal Corporation parking area on Village Road, Nahur. During the operation, they seized five vehicles—comprising one container truck, two tempos, one Bolero, and one pickup truck—and arrested a total of nine individuals. The seized contraband included banned scented betel nut products (such as ‘Varanasi Aashiq’ scented betel nut and scented tobacco) valued at ₹20,21,100, along with five motor vehicles from various companies valued at ₹98 lakh; the total value of the seized property amounts to ₹1,18,21,100. The five vehicles, the nine accused, and the contraband have been taken into custody, and proceedings to register a formal case at the Bhandup Police Station are currently underway. This successful and noteworthy operation was carried out under the guidance of Police Commissioner Deven Bharti, Joint Commissioner of Police Manoj Kumar Sharma (Law and Order), Additional Commissioner of Police Dhananjay Kulkarni (East Region), Deputy Commissioner of Police Abhay Singh Deshmukh (Zone 3), and Assistant Commissioner of Police Ajay Joshi (Bhandup Division), by a team comprising Senior Police Inspector Sapna Khirsagar, Assistant Police Inspector Vinod Lad, Police Havaldars Hiralal Charande, Akesh Tirmare, and Ganesh Sonone, and Police Constables Vikas Shinde and Vijaykumar Pawar.

The Mumbai Anti-Narcotics Cell (ANC) has claimed the arrest of a drug dealer involved in MD smuggling, charging him under Sections 8(c) and 22(c) of the NDPS Act. The accused was apprehended in Jogeshwari after being spotted under suspicious circumstances. The following items were seized from his possession:
1) Three MDMA pills weighing a total of 2.04 grams (estimated value: ₹88,000)
2) MD (Mephedrone) weighing a total of 417 grams (estimated value: ₹1,25,10,000)
3) Fifty Indian currency notes of ₹500 denomination (total cash: ₹25,000)
4) One used Apple iPhone 15 (estimated value: ₹20,000)
*The total estimated value of the seized items is ₹1,26,43,000. On September 11, the Azad Maidan Unit of the ANC (Crime Branch) was patrolling the Jogeshwari area when they received credible information that an individual was selling drugs from his residence. Acting on this tip-off, the ANC team raided the suspect’s home and recovered the aforementioned contraband. Case property recovered during the personal search of the said individual: 1) Three “MDMA tablets” weighing a total of 2.04 grams (estimated value: Rs. 88,000); 2) “MD” drug weighing 210 grams (estimated value: Rs. 6,300,000); 3) One used Apple iPhone 15 (estimated value: Rs. 20,000). Case property recovered during the search of the said individual’s residence: 4) “MD” drug weighing 207 grams (estimated value: Rs. 6,210,000); 5) Fifty Indian currency notes of Rs. 500 denomination (total cash: Rs. 25,000). The total estimated value of the recovered case property is Rs. 12,643,000. The ANC squad (Azad Maidan Unit) has arrested the said individual and registered a case (Case No. 85/2026) under Sections 8(c) and 21(c) of the NDPS Act, 1985. This successful operation was carried out by Deven Bharti (Police Commissioner, Mumbai), Anil Kumbhare (Joint Commissioner of Police – Crime), Krishnakant Upadhyay (Additional Commissioner of Police – Crime), and Poornima Chougule-Shringi (Deputy Commissioner of Police, ANC Squad, Crime Branch).

Mumbai: Police has unmasked a fake officer and gang who had raided an Income Tax office in Andheri, Mumbai, in the style of the movie Special 26, held the owner and employees hostage, snatched their mobile phones and held the staff hostage. According to the Income Tax and Crime Branch officials, the police have exposed the gang who had conducted a fake raid and demanded a salary of Rs 1 crore and have also claimed to have arrested the absconding accused. According to the brief details of the said case, there was a dispute between the complainant, Rajkumar Kandasamy, aged 49, who was previously employed as a driver by Santosh Uday Khopatkar and the complainant. Due to this, the complainant fired Santosh Khopatkar from his job without paying him 06 months’ salary. Angered by this, Santosh Uday Khopatkar, using the information he had about the complainant, along with 06 men and 3 women acquaintances, formed a criminal conspiracy and falsely claimed to be government officers and employees of the Income Tax and Crime Branch Department and illegally entered the office owned by the complainant. He also abducted the complainant and his wife by showing fake government identity cards and snatched the mobile phones of the complainant, his wife and 10 other employees of the office and illegally prevented them from leaving the office and abused them by threatening them with legal action by the Income Tax Department. Also, a sum of Rs. 1 crore was sought to avert the action. Therefore, the complainant filed a legal complaint against the above-mentioned unknown persons and after noting their detailed statement, a case was registered under Sections 61(2), 204, 205, 233, 140(2), 127(1), 351(2), 308(4) of the Indian Penal Code, 2023.

The accused in the said case have been arrested on the basis of technical investigation. The arrested accused are 1) Santosh Uday Khopatkar, aged 37 years, 2) Vinay Ramesh More, aged 37 years, 3) Prem Kisan Sabnani, aged 50 years, 4) Pragya Harish Main, aged 27 years, 5) Reshma Shamrao Waring, aged 41 years, 6) Shabnia Hafeez Sheikh, aged 48 years. During the interrogation of the said arrested accused, it was found that accused Nos. 7 and 8 out of the said accused are working in the Income Tax Department as Income Tax Inspector and Tax Assistant respectively and the said accused along with accused Nos. 02 to 06 and accused Nos. 09 and 10 went to the office of the complainant and on getting information about their involvement in the said criminal conspiracy, the said accused were searched and arrested in the present case on 10th September. The arrested accused include 7) Suresh Mahavir Prasad Mishra, aged 57 years (Income Tax Inspector)8) Sunil Manohar Gore, age 59 years (Tax Assistant)9) Jatu alias Jitendra Namdev More, age 52 years 10) Ashok Vithoba Shinde, age 57 years are involved. This operation has been carried out by DCP Datta Nalawade under the leadership of Mumbai Police Commissioner Devin Bharti and the accused have been arrested and the gang has been exposed. DCP Datta Nalawade said that earlier also 6 accused were arrested in the case but the Income Tax Inspector and Assistant were also involved in it after which today more absconding accused have been arrested and the entire gang has been cracked down on.