UAE deports Mumbai drug syndicate ‘coordinator’ Mohammed Saleem Shaikh in Rs 252 crore MD case; 3rd accused arrested | Mumbai News
MUMBAI: A 35-year-old man, termed as a coordinator for a drug syndicate, against whom a red corner notice (RCN) was issued in the Rs 252 crore Mephedrone or MD seizure case in the city last year, was deported from the United Arab Emirates on Tuesday.Mohammed Saleem Shaikh was arrested upon his arrival in Mumbai, and a court sent him to police custody till Oct 30. Shaikh, originally from South Mumbai, was also known as ‘Saleem Lavish’ for reportedly having a lavish lifestyle. He is the third accused to be deported from Dubai this year in connection with the same drug case. Earlier in June, Tahir Saleem Dola and Mustaffa Kubbawala were deported from Dubai and arrested. So far, 15 accused, including a woman, have been arrested in this case.Last year, the crime branch busted a factory where banned MD drugs were being manufactured in Sangli. Shaikh was the coordinator for this factory. “He supplied the raw material for preparing drugs, and later, when the drug was ready, he arranged its transportation to the peddlers at various places. He was in Dubai and would coordinate everything from there,” said DCP Vishal Thakur of the crime branch. He added that Shaikh was in Dubai for the past two years and was connected to the peddlers across India.Cops are also examining if Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act, 1999 (MCOCA) can be invoked against the accused in this case. On Feb 16 last year, the crime branch arrested a woman and recovered 741 grams of MD from her. A case under the NDPS Act was registered a the Kurla police station and the investigation was handed over to Ghatkopar crime branch. For those arrested earlier, the police have already filed chargesheet.During her interrogation, the Sangli factory angle surfaced, and the police reached there. Drug-making raw material and drugs, around 122.5 kg collectively worth Rs 245 crore, were seized. Police then learnt that the key accused were abroad. Subsequently, red corner notices were issued against Tahir Dola, Kubbawala, and Shaikh.“Shaikh was also a coordinator for supervising drug peddlers or factories in Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Telangana, and Rajasthan. We are in the process of seizing the properties of the arrested accused under the Safema Act,” said an officer. The crime branch has so far seized 126 kg of MD worth over Rs 252 crore, cash Rs 4.2 lakh, gold ornaments worth Rs 1.5 lakh, a car worth Rs 10 lakh, and a motorcycle worth Rs 50,000. The total value of the seized items is Rs 2.56.49 crore.Shaikh is a close aide of the fugitive druglord, Saleem Dola. Taher is Saleem Dola’s son while Kubbawala is his nephew. Soon after the two were detained in the UAE based on the red corner noticed against them, Saleem Dola is suspected to have fled to Turkiye.
