Mumbai: The Samta Nagar Police have arrested a 26-year-old man for allegedly possessing brown heroin worth ₹9.75 lakh with the intent to sell, officials said.

The accused, identified as Vicky Vidhakar Padmukh, a resident of Kandivali East, was apprehended on April 22.

The arrest followed a case registered earlier the same evening under relevant provisions of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985.

According to the police, the offence took place between 2:39 pm and 4:50 pm on April 22 near a public toilet at Krantinagar rickshaw stand, close to Lokhandwala Complex in Kandivali East.

During the operation, police recovered 65 grams of brown heroin from the accused, estimated to be worth ₹9.75 lakh in the illegal market. The contraband was allegedly being possessed for the purpose of sale.

A case has been registered under Sections 8(c) and 21(b) of the NDPS Act. Further investigation is underway to ascertain the source of the drugs and whether other individuals are involved in the network.

Mumbai: The Agripada Police have arrested a man for allegedly sending obscene messages and demanding sexual favors from a 19-year-old girl. The accused is also suspected of having behaved similarly with other women who had previously worked with him, police sources said. Amid the ongoing investigation, a separate case of outraging modesty has also been registered against the same accused at Pydhonie Police Station.

According to police, the latest FIR was registered at Pydhonie Police Station under Sections 78(1)(i)(ii) and 79 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) at 12:55 am on April 24.

The complainant, a 24-year-old woman, alleged that the accused, identified as Ashraf Ashfaq Siddiqui, contacted her on April 20 between 11:57 am and 12:37 pm after obtaining her mobile number. The accused allegedly sent repeated WhatsApp messages proposing friendship and a relationship. Despite the complainant clearly refusing and asking him to stop messaging, he continued to contact her persistently and pressured her to enter into a relationship, thereby causing harassment and outraging her modesty. Police said further investigation is underway.

Mumbai: The Chembur Police Station have arrested four persons for allegedly attempting to sell elephant tusks in violation of wildlife laws. The action was carried out by the Crime Detection Unit following a tip-off about illegal trade in wildlife contraband.

The accused have been identified as Akash Ashok Avhad (28), Sandip Randhir Bidlan (33), Shashank Chandrashekhar Ranjankar (38), and Dinesh Rammanohar Agnivanshi (40).

According to police, acting on specific intelligence, a trap was laid on April 22 at a hotel on RC Marg in Chembur. Informants were instructed to pose as buyers and arrange a deal with the accused. A room was booked at a local lodging facility, where the suspects agreed to deliver the tusks for sale.

At around 7:27 pm, after receiving a signal from the informants, the police team raided Room No. 304 of the hotel. During the raid, four individuals were found inside along with two ivory tusk-like objects placed on the bed.

Officials from the Maharashtra Forest Department were called to the spot, who prima facie confirmed that the seized items were genuine elephant tusks. The accused allegedly intended to sell the tusks for approximately ₹3.5 crore.

The seized contraband includes two elephant tusks weighing about 11 kg and 20.6 kg respectively, along with bags and packing material used for transportation. Police also recovered four mobile phones from the accused.

All items were seized and sealed as per procedure. The accused were taken into custody and brought to the police station for further legal action.

A case has been registered under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, along with provisions of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, including Sections 9, 39, 44, 48, 50, and 51. Further investigation is underway to trace the source of the tusks and identify other members of the network involved in wildlife trafficking.