Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar
Ahead of Holi, high-profile city parties ordered MD drugs worth Rs 90.59 lakh. Smugglers from the Madhya Pradesh–Rajasthan border were delivering 505.33 grams to local peddlers when the crime branch raided them in Padegaon, arresting seven people.
Police had intelligence that a young man from a Mitmita-area family would handle the deal. Acting on directives from Police Commissioner Pravin Pawar and Deputy Commissioner Ratnakar Navale, Senior Inspector Gajanan Kalyankar laid a trap on Sunday. As smugglers gathered, police intercepted a red Madhya Pradesh car, frisked all involved, and seized the drugs. The court remanded the accused until March 7.
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Arrests: Main smugglers: Arbaaz Khan (33), Harsh Sharma (24), Anand Prajapat (24, Dewas, Madhya Pradesh). City peddlers: Shaikh Arbaaz (24), Nadim Shaikh (22), Azhar Shaikh (28), Faizan Shaikh (21). Arbaaz Idris had two knives and a weighing scale.
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Elite Party Supply: Arbaaz Idris supplied MD drugs to elite parties and college students. Vendors Sagar, Ayaan, and Sohel were identified via WhatsApp and Telegram. Orders targeted wealthy Holi parties.
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Operation Crowd Control: A young man recording the raid on his mobile was briefly detained, which dispersed the crowd.
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Distribution Network: Arbaaz’s family in Sasurwadi (Bijipur) helped spread the drugs across the district, including rural areas where a Kannad youth sold them. Harsh Sharma, a homeopathic doctor, funded purchases for profit. The group had supplied the city two to three times before. Arbaaz Idris and Nadim have prior cases, including attempted murder.
Pricing:
• The racket sold 15,000–16,000 grams of MD drugs in the city. Dewas, on the Rajasthan–Madhya Pradesh border, is notorious for such smuggling.
• Wholesale: Rs 3,000–Rs 6,000/g; mid-level peddlers: Rs 6,000–Rs 9,000/g; end users: up to Rs 15,000/g.
• Last-minute elite party supply: Rs 18,000/g.