Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar
Notorious drug smuggler Shaikh Ashpak (32, Ravindranagar), kingpin of a narcotics racket busted on January 25, was arrested along with associates Dawood Pathan (28, Bajipura) and Sarfaraz Mirza (27, Shahabazar) from Hotel Saffron near Wadala Naka in Nashik at 3.45 am Wednesday.
Acting on a tip-off received at 9.30 pm, police commissioner Pravin Pawar coordinated with Nashik commissioner of police (CP) Sandeep Karnik. A crime branch team led by senior police inspector Gajanan Kalyankar, with QRT support, surrounded the hotel as Ashpak was known to carry weapons. When called out through a waiter, Ashpak opened the door but attempted to escape through a window after scuffling with police. He was overpowered and arrested. CP Pawar monitored the operation throughout. Ashpak had fled on January 25 after police busted a racket transporting narcotic liquid from Latur and Udgir. During a 15-day probe, police arrested 18 members, but Ashpak escaped with lakhs of rupees. He hid in Ajmer, Indore, Bhopal, Mumbai, Hyderabad, and Nepal with financial help from associates. Police recovered Rs 4.74 lakh cash, four mobile phones, and a car worth Rs 15 lakh from him. Police also arrested his associate Fardeen Shaikh of Shahabazar, who managed the racket in his absence and is wanted in an attempted murder and nylon manja case at the City Chowk police station. Ashpak has eight serious cases, including murder, attempted murder, arms smuggling, and drug trafficking. The operation was conducted under deputy commissioner of police Ratnakar Navale and assistant commissioner of police Ashok Rajput. Assistant police inspector Ravikant Gacche produced the accused in court, where Ashpak pleaded not to be paraded or have his head shaved. The court remanded all four accused to police custody till February 23.