Dawood aide Iqbal Mirchi dies in UK

S Ahmed Ali TNN

Mumbai: Fugitive gangster Dawood Ibrahim’s close aide Iqbal Memon Merchant alias Iqbal Mirchi, once ranked among the world’s top 50 drug lords, died of cardiac arrest in London early on Thursday morning.
    India had twice tried to get him extradited since he fled in the mid-nineties after Maharashtra issued a detention order against him.
    Mirchi, 63, was on a walk near his London house when he suffered a heart attack, his elder brother Kadir Memon, who lives in Mahim, said. He is survived by two wives, Heena Kauser and Hazra, two daughters and a son.
    “Mirchi’s death is a big blow to the drugs syndicate, particularly the D gang. It’s unfortunate he died before being deported,” Himanshu Roy, joint commissioner of police (crime) said.

ndia failed to get drug lord Iqbal Mirchi extradited

S Ahmed Ali TNN

    An Interpol red corner notice (an international warrant) was issued against Iqbal Mirchi in 1994 on the Central Bureau of Investigation’s request.
    In 1995, officers from the Scotland Yard raided Mirchi’s East London home and arrested him on drugs and terrorism charges in connection with the 1993 Mumbai blasts.
    But an extradition request by India was turned down by magistrates.
    Scotland Yard’s investigation of Mirchi, which ended in 1999, found no evidence of criminal activity and in 2001, the UK Home Office granted him indefinite leave to remain in the UK.
    Though Mirchi’s family claimed that he had only two cases pending against him – one for the murder of his associate Amar Suvarna in 1994 at Kala Ghoda and the other for the seizure of five gunny bags of mandrax from him in Worli in 1995 – the Mumbai police said there were at least three more cases.
    His brother, Kadir Memon, a resident of Mahim, said Mirchi had twice offered to surrender to Indian authorities.
    “Why did the Indian government not accept his offer to surrender in 2004? He had offered to surrender on the condition that he be escorted by the police from the airport to the court as he feared some officers wanted to kill him in a fake encounter,” the brother said.
    Mirchi, son of a spice seller from Null Bazaar and a school dropout, began his crime career as a taxi driver transporting drugs concealed in bags of dry red chillies and spices.
    He later became a drug baron and owned a pub in Worli, where he came in touch with politicians, Bollywood actors, police officers and bureaucrats. After he fled India and settled in London, Mumbai police sources said, he invested his ill-gotten money in real estate.
    In 2012, Mirchi was arrested in London and charged with threatening to kill his 41-year-old nephew, Kadir Nadeem.
    The CBI then attempted to revive its extradition request, but the UK’s Crown Prosecution Service dropped charges against him because of insufficient evidence.
MERCHANT OF NARCOTICS
Iqbal Mirchi, 63 Real name | Iqbal Memon Merchant Family Father, dead, ran a spice shop in Null Bazaar. This is the origin of the alias Mirchi
Five brothers. One died a few years ago. The others, all businessmen, are in Mumbai
Two wives. Heena Kauser, the daughter of Bollywood producer-director K Asif and also an actress, and Hazra
Two daughters, both married, live in London
One son, lives in London
CASES Murder | Accused of killing his manager Amar Suvarna near Jehangir Art Gallery in 1995
Status | Mirchi was charged as main conspirator; erstwhile Terrorism and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act was invoked against him; was declared absconding; trial didn’t begin. Six people were arrested but acquitted
Drug seizure | Five gunny bags of mandrax were seized from Worli in 1994. Mirchi was allegedly involved in the drug’s smuggling to Africa. In all, had two criminal cases against him
GANG CONNECTIONS Was a close aide of Dawood Ibrahim. Used to supply drugs to D-Company Was on good terms with Chhota Shakeel, Faheem Machmach and Anees Ibrahim
PROPERTIES Mumbai | Flat in Null Bazaar
Benami | Flats in Null Bazaar, Nagpada, Agripada, Juhu and Madanpura. Said to be worth more than Rs 600 crore
All the properties are sealed London | Six-bedroom house in an exclusive area of Hornchurch, a large suburb in East London. Had lived here since 1995 LIFE IN UNDERWORLD
Started out as a taxi driver transporting drugs concealed in bags of dry red chillies and spices
Mirchi owned a pub in Worli, where he came in touch with politicians, Bollywood actors, police officers and bureaucrats
The police had registered five offences against Mirchi: two drugsrelated, one for murder, one for rioting and one for a crime in Raigad district
In 1994, an Interpol red corner notice (an international warrant) was issued against him on the Central Bureau of Investigation’s request
    A UN report once claimed that he was a senior figure in Dawood Ibrahim’s worldwide crime syndicate
    In 1995, officers from Scotland Yard raided Mirchi’s East London home and arrested him on drugs and terrorism charges in connection with the 1993 Mumbai blasts
    An extradition request by India was turned down by magistrates
    Scotland Yard’s investigation, which ended in 1999, did not find any evidence of criminal activity against him
    As DCP of the antinarcotics bureau from 1995
    to 1997, the late Hemant
    Karkare tried to form a foolproof case against Mirchi, but was unsuccessful
In 2001, the UK home office granted him indefinite leave to remain on British soil
In 2011, he was arrested by the Metropolitan Police and charged with threatening to kill his 41-year-old nephew
The CBI attempted to revive its extradition request, but the UK’s Crown Prosecution Service dropped the charges against him because of insufficient evidence
It was rumoured that he was also under investigation over the Indian Premier League match-fixing and betting scandal
He had repeatedly expressed a wish to return to India if the CBI dropped its extradition claims

Iqbal Mirchi owned a flat in this Juhu society