MUMBAI: In an uncanny parallel with the iconic TV series 'Breaking Bad', a chemistry postgraduate, after holding a respectable job in the city for years, decided to go rogue amidst the dreariness of middle age, ending up as the mastermind of an elaborate drugs supply scam, reports Ahmed Ali.
The anti-narcotics cell (ANC) of Mumbai police busted the ring on Thursday, making five arrests- including of the kingpin, Pravin Kumar (52), and also of a woman-and seizing 704kg of mephedrone, or MD, worth over Rs 1,400 crore in the retail market. The drug used to be sold using social media platforms and also to fixed clients.
Breaking Bad in city backyard: MSc in contraband chemistry
The anti-narcotics cell (ANC) of Mumbai police has busted an elaborate mephedrone (MD) racket. Pravin Kumar (52), the mastermind, used to manufacture the contraband at drugs manufacturing units in Palghar and Ambernath. It was a tip-off in March about a peddler who used to ply his trade in the Govandi-Mankhurd belt that led the police to the Palghar factory and thereon down a chain of events leading up to the arrests.
The other four accused -Shamsullah Khan (39), Ayub Khan (38), Riyaz Memon (43), and Riyaz's girlfriend Reshma Chandan (35)-were suppliers who used to buy MD from Kumar wholesale and send the drug down the line for retail. All accused have been booked under the NDPS Act. None has a crime record.
With the seizure, the police claimed that there will be a major, desirable shortage of MD in the city and neighbouring areas. "This is bad news for addicts but good news for their relatives and health authorities," said a police officer.
Kumar, a native of Uttar Pradesh, obtained an MSc in organic chemistry from Purvanchal University, before arriving in Mumbai in 1997. Initially, he lived at Nalasopara, working as a marketing executive in a pharma company. The police said that roughly after 15 years of dedicated work, he started selling banned drugs, though to law-breakers in the mainstream supplies world. Soon, he expanded his operations by directly getting in touch with outright criminals. "Within a few years, he came in contact with people who approached him for the supply of MD. He started small, procuring and supplying a few kgs at a time. Eventually he became confident enough to buy a chemical unit in Palghar on lease where he started manufacturing MD in batches. But before that, he perfected the art of making quality MD. This was around 2018 or 2019," said DCP (ANC) Datta Nalawade.
"At first he made and sold 200kg, then 400kg, ultimately increasing his output to over 700kg. In contrast to his earlier middle-class income, now he was making crores. In just two years, he had sold over 1,200 kg of MD, personally making more than Rs 20 crore by way of wholesale supply-note that the drug becomes much more expensive as it goes down the chain. Anyway, Kumar bought many properties in UP and Gujarat. We are analysing all his transactions and assets. These will all be frozen," Nalawade said.
The officer said that in March, the ANC's Worli unit laid a trap at Mankhurd and arrested Shamsullah with 250 grams of MD. "Khan's interrogation led the police to arrest his mentor, Ayub, from whom we recovered 2.76 kg of MD. We carried a technical analysis of his mobile phone and found that the drug was supplied to him by Reshma. It was here that our officers became very suspicious. This was because of the involvement of a woman in such a syndicate."
Reshma's interrogation, cellphone analysis and a study of her bank transactions led the police to her boyfriend, Riyaz, who was directly getting MD from the manufacturer, said inspector Sandeep Kale of Worli police station's ANC unit. "After we arrested him, he spilled the beans on the mastermind, Pravin Kumar."
