Latest news with #Kubbawala
Hindustan Times
26-07-2025
- Hindustan Times
‘Drug lord' Salim Dola's chemicals supplier held
MUMBAI: A key supplier of chemicals to the cartel of drug lord Salim Dola has been arrested in Surat. Brijesh Morabia, 32, was arrested by the Mumbai crime branch for supplying raw materials used to make narcotic drugs, via Dola's nephew Mustafa Kubbawala. 'Drug lord' Salim Dola's chemicals supplier held This is the fourteenth arrest in connection with the Sangli factory bust last year. The factory was found to be making mephedrone, commonly known as 'MD', leading to the seizure of MD worth ₹256 crore. Police officers said Morabia was supplying chemicals such as Bromo 2, required to make the contraband, for the last five years. Morabia's involvement was discovered after the crime branch deported Dola's son Taher last month and nephew Mustafa Kubbawala this month from the Middle East. During interrogation, Kubbawala revealed that he had been picking up chemicals from Morabia on the instructions of his uncle, Salim Dola. Kubbawala said he would hand the chemicals to the main accused, Pravin aka Nagesh Ramchandra Shinde, who oversaw production at the Sangli factory, said police officer. Kubbawala would also collect money from drug suppliers who were part of their syndicate in Mumbai, and send it to Dubai through hawala channels. Salim Dola, an alleged member of the Dawood Ibrahim gang, is believed to be overseas. His multi-state drug cartel uses factories in various parts of the country, three of which have been busted in recent times. The Mira Bhayandar and Vasai Virar police stormed a drug factory in Telangana's Vikarabad district, and another in Varanasi, where they seized mephedrone and raw material worth ₹327 crore, police said. Morabia, who has studied till Std XII, got mixed up in the illegal drugs trade five years ago, when he started working as a chemicals supplier, said the officer. Before that, he had been working with a chemical company in Ankleshwar, and was familiar with the chemicals business. Police are now investigating whether or not Morabia was working alone. A crime branch officer said Bromo 2 was a key ingredient in the manufacture of MD and is easily available in Ankleshwar and Surat in Gujarat. Moreover, it does not need a licence, said the officer. In March last year, police stormed Dola's factory in Kavthe Mahankal in Sangli, and seized 126.14kg of mephedrone. Kubbawala was charge sheeted in the case and the trial court had issued an arrest warrant against him. Kubbawala and Taher Dola were apprehended by the NCB-Abu Dhabi and deported in May this year after a Red Corner Notice was issued against both of them. Taher was brought back to India on June 13 and Kubbawala on July 11. Both of them are in judicial custody.
Hindustan Times
12-07-2025
- Hindustan Times
Key accused in ₹252-cr Sangli drugs bust deported from UAE
MUMBAI: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Friday got Mustafa Mohammed Kubbawala, 44, a key accused in a ₹252-crore synthetic drugs bust, deported from the United Arab Emirates (UAE), with the help of Interpol and authorities based in the UAE. A resident of Surat, Kubbawala was wanted by the Mumbai police in an illegal mephedrone factory bust in Sangli district, Maharashtra. Key accused in ₹ 252-cr Sangli drugs bust deported from UAE In March last year, police stormed the factory, in Kavthe Mahankal in Sangli, and seized 126.14kg of mephedrone, commonly known as 'MD' valued at around ₹252 crore. The illegal facility was controlled by alleged drug lord Salim Dola and his son Taher. Kubbawala, son of Salim's sister, was charge sheeted in the case and the trial court had issued an arrest warrant against him. Kubbawala was found to be in the UAE by Interpol and the National Central Bureau-Abu Dhabi, officials said. He was apprehended on the basis of a pending Red Corner Notice (RCN) against him. RCNs issued via Interpol allow for the arrest or detention of fugitives in member countries pending extradition or deportation. The RCN was issued against Kubbawala after the Mumbai crime branch made the drugs bust in Sangli last year. 'The International Police Cooperation Unit of the CBI, in collaboration with the NCB-Abu Dhabi, brought Kubbawala back to India on Friday,' the official said. A four-member team of the Mumbai police had gone to Dubai, on July 7, to bring him back. Kubbawala was arrested in Dubai on May 18, two days before Salim's son, Taher Dola, was apprehended by the NCB-Abu Dhabi. Taher was brought back to India on June 13 and is currently in judicial custody, said a police officer. A four-member team of the Mumbai crime branch, comprising assistant commissioner of police Chandrakant Jadhav, police inspector Arun Thorat and two head constables went to the UAE on Tuesday, and with the help of the International Police Cooperation Unit of the CBI, brought Kubbawala to Mumbai on Friday. According to the police, Kubbawala became involved in the drugs trade a decade ago and, for the last five to six years, has been operating in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region and helping Salim Dola to run his syndicate. A senior police officer said he used to supply raw materials required for the manufacture of MD from Surat to Pravin aka Nagesh Ramchandra Shinde, who oversaw production at the Sangli factory. He was assisted in the procurement of raw materials by Ijaj Ali Imdad Ali Ansari and Adil Imtiyaz Vohara, both Surat residents who were arrested in the case earlier. Kubbawala, the police said, would personally transport the contraband manufactured at the Sangli unit to their distribution point in Mira Road, where he used to deliver it to their points-person, Sajid Mohammad Asif Shaikh alias Dabs, 25. Kubbawala transported the drugs to Dabs in Mercedes or BMWs, and the latter then used his network of drug peddlers to supply it to consumers. Kubbawala would also collect money from Dabs once the contraband was sold and send it to Dubai through hawala channels, said a police officer. He added that the 44-year-old mostly stayed in Surat and visited Mumbai and MMR only whenever required. He fled to the UAE after the Sangli factory bust. Unit 7 of the crime branch has arrested a total 13 accused, including a woman, in the case so far.
Time of India
11-07-2025
- Time of India
250cr Sangli drugs lab bust: ‘Supplier' extradited from UAE
Mumbai: An alleged supplier of chemicals and materials used in the manufacture of party drug mephedrone (MD) worth Rs 250 crore in Sangli district was on Friday extradited from the UAE in an operation coordinated by Mumbai police, CBI and Interpol. The suspect, Mustafa Mohammad Kubbawala, was brought to Mumbai after months of coordination with Interpol. The case had uncovered a drug trafficking network stretching from Mumbai's slums to remote areas in Sangli and across international borders that used angadias and hawala channels to launder the money. The value of the MD found at the Sangli lab made the seizure one of the largest such involving synthetic drugs in Maharashtra in recent years. The racket was busted after a woman, Parveen Sheikh, was caught by the crime branch in Kurla in Feb last year with 641gm of MD. She said she was acting on the instructions of two handlers from Dubai—Salim Dola and Mohammed Salim Sheikh—and their Indian associate, Sajid Mohammad Asif Sheikh alias Dabs. Sajid was soon nabbed. You Can Also Check: Mumbai AQI | Weather in Mumbai | Bank Holidays in Mumbai | Public Holidays in Mumbai Based on the leads from the two arrests, the crime branch conducted raids in Mira Road and seized 3kg of MD. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Nhà container vận chuyển thực sự có giá bao nhiêu? - Xem giá Shipping Container Homes Tìm hiểu thêm Undo The probe revealed that 30kg of MD had already been distributed to operatives in Surat. Parveen and Sajid also revealed that raw materials for manufacturing MD were supplied by Kubbawala, who allegedly took orders from masterminds based in Dubai. They said they transported the materials to Pravin alias Bajesh Ramchandra Shinde, who ran a drug manufacturing factory in Sangli. In a subsequent joint raid, Mumbai crime branch and Sangli police busted a full-fledged MD manufacturing unit at Sangli's Irti village and seized a staggering 122.5kg of MD, along with lab equipment, including ovens, electric heaters, mixers, beakers, filtration units and weighing scales. Six more persons were soon arrested. The turning point in the case came through technical surveillance, including GPS records, mobile tracking and bookings for a rental car. Police traced an SUV that Kubbawala rented multiple times and found that the vehicle was taken to Satara and Sangli districts —key locations where drug deliveries and raw material were dropped off. The car bookings, online payment receipts and statements from the car owner placed Kubbawala in direct contact with the suspects who ran the Sangli lab.
