Navi Mumbai police take custody of drug case key accused deported from Malaysia

Thane, Jun 11 (PTI) The Navi Mumbai police on Wednesday took into custody Naveen Chichkar, who was arrested by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) last month after being deported from Malaysia, in a hydroponic weed seizure case, officials said.

Chichkar is the main accused in the case of seizure of hydro weed in Navi Mumbai recently, they said.

The NCB had earlier arrested Navi Mumbai resident Chichkar (35), alleged to be the kingpin of a "transnational drug syndicate", after securing his deportation from Malaysia. He was wanted in multiple cases registered by the anti-narcotics agency.

The cartel operated by Chichkar sold drugs valued at Rs 1,128 crore in India, including cocaine and hybrid strain hydroponic weed that were sourced from the US via cargo shipments, an official earlier said.

After being brought back to India, he was lodged at the Taloja jail in Navi Mumbai.

The Navi Mumbai police on Wednesday took his custody in connection with a case registered with them, Assistant Commissioner of Police Bhausaheb Dhole told reporters.

"The Navi Mumbai police's Anti-Narcotics Cell (ANC) registered a case on April 14 at the Nerul police station after receiving a tip-off about the possession and distribution of hydroponic marijuana (hydro weed). As of now, 32 individuals have been named as accused in the case." The police have arrested 18 of the accused so far, he said.

"In this case, we have already seized 2.5 to 3 kilograms of hydro weed and about 1 kilogram of Indian marijuana. We are investigating further leads that may help uncover the full extent of this drug network," the official said.

After Chichkar's deportation and arrest last month, the NCB had said the involvement of the international drug syndicate came to light after the seizure of 200 grams of cocaine hidden in a projector from a parcel being sent from Mumbai to Australia through a courier firm on January 21 this year.

In a follow-up operation of the case, the NCB seized 11.540 kilograms of cocaine, 4.9 kilograms of cannabis and 5.5 kilograms of cannabis gummies from the house of one of the members of the syndicate in Navi Mumbai, an NCB official had said.

During the investigation, it came to light that a well-oiled international syndicate was involved in trafficking cocaine from the US to India, and also in its distribution in India and outside, the official said.

The involvement of Clearing House Agents (CHA) and hawala operators also came to the surface during the probe, he added. PTI COR GK