The interrogation of 61-year-old Gulam Azad, one of the major suppliers of Mephedrone in state, has left Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) officers startled — his drugs would be supplied to over 250 doctors and college students in Pune
Gulam Azad
The interrogation of 61-year-old Gulam Azad, one of the major suppliers of Mephedrone in state, has left Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) officers startled — his drugs would be supplied to over 250 doctors and college students in Pune. Azad was recently arrested along with his aide Pravinta Wasnik, an NCB staffer, with 919 g of drugs worth lakhs.
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Azad, an Iranian, was held from his Wadala house last week, while Wasnik was arrested from her Antop Hill residence. Apart from their residences, the police have also seized drugs stashed in Wasnik’s Honda Activa.
The big catch
A high-ranking NCB officer told mid-day, “Azad is a big catch as he is a key supplier of Mephedrone in the state.” Investigations into his network revealed that he was mainly supplying to Pune city.
“The racket he was running was supplying MD to doctors and students in many colleges in Pune’s Shivaji Nagar and Kondwa areas,” the senior NCB officer added.
An NCB source said Azad would hand over the drugs to his trusted aid in Pune, who would then, using his networks of peddlers, sell the same to the doctors and students. And hence, busting his racket meant cutting down a major supply of drugs to Pune, he added.
Azad not only deals in MD, but also supplies cocaine. He himself is addicted to it.
A wide network
An NCB officer said there are many other drug racketeers operating in association with Azad, and that their identities can’t be revealed at this stage.
Azad was recently sent to judicial custody by the court. He and Wasnik both are booked under the stringent Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act.
NCB sources also said that Azad is closely associated with Indian origin Dutchman Kishore Henrik Nandan, a resident of Ghodbunder Road in Thane. Nandan was arrested by the Kandivli police in November 2016 for allegedly possessing LSD dots worth Rs 67.9 lakh and MDMA tablets worth Rs 40.95 lakh.
Bail unlikely for Azad
This is the third case in which Azad has been arrested. Earlier, he was arrested in June 2015 in Pune by the crime branch’s ANC. Before that he was arrested in 2010 in Mumbai along with eight foreigners by the Narcotics Control Bureau. Drugs worth Rs 25 crore were seized from them.
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