MD drug case: Kingpin flees India, three more suspects flown to Pune from Delhi
According to Pune Police Commissioner Amitesh Kumar, Dhunayal alias Sam fled from India to Kathmandu on January 30 with the help of his passport which was with him at the time of his release from the jail
The police probe into the ₹3,676-crore Mephedrone (MD) drug bust case has revealed that the kingpin, identified as Sandeep Dhuniya (42) of Patna (Bihar), who was behind the mass manufacturing of the banned drug has fled the country after being released on bail.
According to Pune Police Commissioner Amitesh Kumar, Dhuniya alias Sam fled from India to Kathmandu on January 30 with the help of his passport which was with him at the time of his release from the jail.
“We have initiated the process of issuing a red corner notice against him and probing the role of another foreign national from Africa in the drug trade,” he said.
According to the police chief, Dhuniya was arrested by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) in a narcotics case related to Samartha Pharmaceuticals in 2016 after which he spent some time in jail
“During his stay in the jail, he recruited the other accused for his drug trade and has been a key person in running the illicit drug trade. We have set in motion the process to cancel his bail,” Kumar said.
Meanwhile, the crime branch officials brought three suspects, identified as Divesh Chiranjit Bhatia, Sandeep Rajpal Kumar and Sandeep Hanumansingh Yadav of South Extension, from New Delhi to Pune. The trio has been arrested for their role in the seizure of 720kg of MD worth ₹1,440 crore from New Delhi. According to the police, the total MD drug haul which began on Monday has reached 1,838kg valued at ₹3,676 crore.
Nine persons have been arrested so far, including five from Delhi, three from Pune and one from Sangli.
Between the intervening night on Tuesday and Wednesday, the crime branch team raided a godown at Kupwad near Sangli and seized 150kg of the synthetic drug valued at ₹300 crore. Further investigation has revealed that the Delhi facility operators had sent MD parcels to a person of Indian origin in London through a courier service by packaging it in ready-to-eat food packets. The seized MD was manufactured at the Kurkumbh plant and transported to various locations.
The anti-drug operation began in Somwar Peth when three men were arrested along with seizure of MD worth ₹3.58 crore from their possession. Later, the police raided a pharmaceutical company at Kurkumbh located 75km from Pune. The police seized 718kg of MD worth ₹1,436 crore in the first two raids. Later, the plant owner and a chemical engineer from Dombivli were also arrested. Their interrogation led the police to Delhi for further raids.
