Mumbai police busts inter-state drug network; Kingpin and aide nabbed in Odisha

The Anti-Narcotics Cell (ANC) of the Mumbai crime branch has successfully dismantled an inter-state drug syndicate, culminating in the arrest of the alleged kingpin, Laxmibhai Pradhan, and his aide, Bidyadhar Pradhan, from Golanthara in Odisha's Ganjam district. The arrests are linked to a two-year-old case where the ANC's Ghatkopar unit seized 1,820 kg of ganja valued at Rs 3.85 crore in December 2021. The Mumbai police have apprehended five individuals in total in connection with this significant drug seizure.

The police identified the kingpin of the syndicate and launched a search for him in Odisha and Andhra Pradesh. He was found to be moving in different cities of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh to evade arrest, said the official.

With this, the police have so far arrested five persons in connection with the drug seizure case, the official said on Tuesday.An offence under relevant sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act was registered against them.

A team was dispatched from Mumbai to the eastern state and the duo was nabbed, the official said. Both were brought to Mumbai on transit remand. An in-depth investigation was underway to trace other members of the syndicate, he said.Laxmibhai Pradhan has several criminal cases pending against him, including murder and those under the Arms Act, in different parts of Odisha. Bidyadhar Pradhan, too, faces three criminal cases, the official said.