Mumbai Police seizes 345 kg marijuana, arrests one accused

Mumbai, Jan 15 (IANS) In another major haul within a week, Mumbai Police seized over 345 kg marijuana or 'ganja' valued at around Rs 52 million, officials said here on Friday.Following a tip-off regarding a huge consignment of contraband hidden in a building in Sangharsh Nagar, a Chandivali suburb in north-east Mumbai, a team of Saki Naka police station raided the premises, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone 10) Maheshwar Reddy said.The 'ganja' was found hidden in a small flat in building no. 10 in the Slum Redevelopment Authority complex.The team scrutinized CCTV footage from the area and zeroed in on 39-year-old Ashok M Metre, who was arrested and booked under the NDPS Act, said Reddy.The area was notorious for drug peddling and was put under extra surveillance to unearth the illegal goings-on, a police official said.On January 9, the Narcotics Control Bureau had raided two locations in Bandra and Khar and seized over 200 kg of high-end drugs like OGKhush.British national Karan Sajnani, an Indian-origin businessman living in Mumbai for over a year, was arrested along with sisters Rahila and Shaista Furniturewala, who are said to be managers of a Bollywood actress.Sajnani's interrogation led to the arrests of 'Muchhad Paanwala' co-owner Ramkumar Tiwari, and Sameer Khan, the son-in-law of Maharashtra Minister Nawab Malik, this week.
--IANS qn/tsb