Navi Mumbai Police have invoked the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) against a drug trafficking gang, an officer said on Thursday.
This marks the first-of-its-kind crackdown since the Maharashtra government, on July 8, officially classified the manufacture, possession, transport, and sale of narcotics as offences under the category of “organised crimes”, news agency PTI reported.
The move signals a tougher approach by law enforcement agencies in the state to tackle the growing menace of drug networks by using more powerful legal tools available under MCOCA.
On July 11, the Navi Mumbai Police`s Anti Narcotics Cell had conducted a raid on a flat in Digha, leading to the arrest of Usha Roshan Naik, Shailash Basanna Naik alias Pillu, Jyoti Nilesh Naik, Nilesh Basanna Naik, Roshan Basanna Naik, and Shantabai Kisan Karandekar, for the alleged possession of 252 grams of mephedrone worth Rs 75.69 lakh, the officer said.
“A case under the NDPS Act and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita was registered at the time at Rabale police station. A probe showed the gang, under Shantabai Kisan Karandekar, was engaged in large-scale drug trafficking for several years. It was also involved in crimes like murder, assaults,” the official informed.
On the directives of Navi Mumbai Police Commissioner Milind Bharambe, it was decided to invoke the MCOCA provisions against the drug trafficking gang, an official release said, adding that citizens can assist in the fight against narcotics by providing information on the dedicated helpline number 8828112112.
Mumbai cyber cops bust international job scam; victims were forced into cyber slavery, says police
Mumbai`s South Cyber Police Station officials on Wednesday said that they have arrested a 28-year-old man allegedly involved in trafficking Indian job seekers to Southeast Asia and forcing them into cyber slavery.
The accused, identified as Salman Munir Sheikh, was nabbed from Nayanagar in Mira Road on Wednesday, following a months-long manhunt.
Police said that Sheikh allegedly lured young Indians with promises of lucrative overseas jobs, only to hand them over to Chinese syndicates running fraudulent call centres in Laos.
According to officials, the case began in August 2024 when a resident of Antop Hill approached the police. While searching for a data entry job on LinkedIn, the complainant came into contact with Sheikh, who offered him a job in Thailand with a promised salary of Rs 70,000 per month. Trusting the offer, the complainant and his friend each paid Rs 30,000 for visas and tickets.
On February 9, 2024, Sheikh accompanied them to Bangkok, along with three other recruits. From there, with the help of a Chinese woman, he transported all five jobseekers across the border into Laos, where he handed them over to a Chinese handler. Their passports were seized, and they were forced to carry out online scams and extortion activities via WhatsApp, Facebook, and Instagram.
“They were held captive and told to pay 20,000 Chinese Yuan (approximately Rs 2.3 lakh) as ransom for their release. When one of them was unable to arrange the money, Sheikh allegedly trafficked two more Indians in exchange for freeing him,” said a senior police official.
The victim eventually returned to India and filed a complaint. Based on confidential inputs, police traced Sheikh to Mira Road, where he was arrested.
(With PTI inputs)
