Mar 22 2016 : The Times of India (Mumbai)
Gem merchant escapes from his abductors
Ahmed Ali
Mumbai:


4 Held As `5Cr Ransom Plan Flops In Borivli
The city crime branch arrested a gang of four who attempted to kidnap a diamond merchant in Borivli (W) last week for ransom. But presence of mind and bravery helped the victim free himself from the gang's clutches.
Mukesh Parmar, Ramesh Parte, Kejul Morbiya and Narayan Pandey have been handed over to the MHB police. During investigations it transpired that Parmar gave details about Rajesh Kausal to his associates.

Kasual was driving to office from Chikuwadi in Borivli when four men in a WagonR overtook his Honda City at the Devki Nagar junction and assaulted him on March 16. They bundled him into the rear seat of his car and drove towards Dahisar.

Deputy commissioner of police (crime) Mohan Dahikar said that the victim opened the car door and jumped out of the moving car when it slowed down due to a speed-breaker.“The accused fled when Kausal started screaming for help.He later registered a kidnapping case at the MHB police station. The case was later transferred to the crime branch,“ said Dahikar. During investigations, the crime branch got a tip-off of an insider's involvement. “We started questioning many people connected to the victim and stumbled upon information that an accused was likely to come to a place to meet his associate. We picked him up and during interrogation he spilt the beans,“ said Sunil Deshmukh, assistant commissioner of police.

Parmar used to work as a sweeper in the victim's firm and he had passed on information that the victim had recently sold a huge plot and had got a big amount from the sale. The accused said they had planned to hold Kausal hostage and then demand a ransom of Rs 5 crore.

 Click To Enlarge




Mar 23 2016 : The Times of India (Mumbai)
MCOCA may be slapped on gangster's kin
Ahmed Ali
Mumbai:


The anti-extortion cell of the city police are exploring if the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) can be invoked against Arife Aboobakar Shaikh alias Bhaijaan.
The arrested accused is gangster Chhota Shakeel's brother-in-law. Shakeel's cousin, a businesswoman, is wanted in the case. The absconding woman has been identified as Tabbassum Danish Shaikh. Recently , another relative of Shakeel--Salim Qureshi alias Salim Fruit--was arrested in another case.

He was taken into custody from his Mira Road home on Wednesday for allegedly extorting and threatening a trader. “We have sought legal advice on whether or not the stringent Act can be applied in the case. There must be at least two previous chargesheets against the accused in order to invoke MCOCA,“ said a senior police officer.

On Sunday , cops searched Bhaijaan's Mira Road home and recovered two cellpho nes, a laptop, an affidavit and stamp papers. Bhaijaan was produced before the Esplanade court on Monday and was remanded in police custody .

 Click To Enlarge

Mar 23 2016 : The Times of India (Mumbai)
Police bust fake passport racket, arrest 3 Bangladeshis
Ahmed Ali
Mumbai:


The city crime branch has unearthed a fake passport racket involving Bangladeshi nationals. The gang leader, it is learnt, had made passports using bogus documents for several Bangladeshis. Questions are being raised as to how the accused managed to procure passports from the Mumbai office despite a strict verification process.
Acting on a tip-off, the crime branch unit 9, led by inspector Mahesh Desai, nabbed Nazrul Shaikh from near Bandra station where he was to meet his associate. The police found fake school leaving certificates, passports and a PAN card on him. “He appeared Bangladeshi, but had a Indian passport and we had specific information that Nazrul was involved in a passport racket. Hence, we sent his passport for verification,“ said a police officer. As Nazrul had submitted a leaving certificate of Anjuman Tabligul Islam High School, a police team visited the Kurla school and learnt that the certificate was a fake.

The police then carried a search of Nazrul's house and found passports of two of his associates--Mohammed Ahsanullah and Mohammed Naseem Ansari--which were also allegedly made using fake documents. Ahsanullah and Ansari were also arrested.




Mar 26 2016 : The Times of India (Mumbai)International postal drug racket busted, Nigerian arrested with Rs 4 crore cocaineAhmed AliMumbai


The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), in a joint operation with the Anti-Narcotics Cell (ANC) of the Mumbai police, on Thursday busted an international drug racket that used postal services to smuggle in contraband and arrested a Nigerian national with 600gm of cocaine imported from Latin America. The cocaine, worth Rs 4 crore, was concealed in the axle of a vehicle that was sent via post from Latin America.
Sources said the NCB received a tip-off that a parcel containing drugs was to arrive in India. The NCB tied up with the postal services and ANC and trailed the con signment for nearly a week as it passed through two to three countries. When the parcel reached a post office at Khoparkhairane in Navi Mumbai, the officers laid a trap and arrested William Frank, a Nigerian national, when he came to collect it.

“We could have stopped the parcel at the Foreign Post Office as all post parcels are routed through it.We played along so we could reach the recipient,“ said an official, adding that demand for cocaine is increasing in the city.

The officer said international drug peddlers send parcels through postal services or courier companies and provide the wrong KYC and address of the recipient. “They then track the parcel online. When it reaches its destination city, it lies at the post office as the address is wrong. The recipient then picks it up from the post office,“ said Sanjay Jha, zonal director of NCB.

Sources said that the NCB had recently written to the postal authorities and even private courier services asking them to insist on verifying the KYC of the parcel sender and receiver. “We have apprised the postal department to instal CCTV cameras and collect carbon copies of the identity proofs and KYC of the sender and receiver,“ said an officer.

The customs department said that it is not possible to scan all parcels sent to India through courier services. “The sheer volume makes it difficult. So, we carry out random checks,“ said an official.

 Click To Enlarge