Four held with MD worth Rs 10.8 lakh in Sambhajinagar; one on the run

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar: The city crime branch arrested four men and seized MD drugs worth Rs 10.8 lakh during a trap laid in the Buddhilane area on Saturday evening, the police said. Whereabouts of one more accused are currently unknown.Police commissioner Pravin Pawar said the action was based on credible intelligence and part of an ongoing anti-narcotics drive. "Our teams acted swiftly on specific input about drug trafficking activity in Buddhilane. We are committed to dismantling such networks and ensuring strict action against those involved in narcotics trade," he said.According to the police, sub-inspector Arjun Kadam received a tip from an informer that one Salman Mehmud Sheikh would arrive in the area along with his associates to sell MD . Crime branch teams then laid a trap near Nehru Bhavan, in a lane beside Pasha Hotel.DCP (crime) Ratnakar Navale said the suspects were caught red-handed during the operation. "The team apprehended four accused while they were allegedly engaged in a drug transaction. We have seized MD powder, cash and mobile phones from them," he said.The arrested accused have been identified as Sohel Mehmud Sheikh (24), a resident of Kapda Bazaar in Usmanpura; Salman Mehmud Sheikh (26), from Kabadipura in Buddhilane; Abdul Rehman Adnan Hilabi (26), from near Jali Dargah in Kiradpura; and Sheikh Junaid Abdul Rauf (23), from near Roshan Masjid in Kiradpura.Inspector Gajanan Kalyankar said 49.3 g of MD powder was recovered from Sohel Sheikh during the search. "Preliminary investigation has revealed that Salman and his brother Sohel were jointly involved in selling the drug. We are now probing where they sourced the MD from and to whom they intended to supply it within the city," he said.The police said efforts are on to trace the absconding accused and to identify possible links in the local drug distribution network. An FIR has been registered at City Chowk police station under sections 8(c), 21(b) and 29 of the NDPS Act. Further investigation is being carried out by sub-inspector Budha Shinde.