Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar: The alleged mastermind of a major drug trafficking racket, Shaikh Ashfak Shaikh Isaq, who had been evading arrest for the past 20 days, was arrested from a hotel at Nashik’s Wadala Naka late on Wednesday. The police said that Ashfak had constantly been moving from one place to another across India to evade arrest. He is suspected to have even visited Nepal. Two of his associates — Pathan Dawood Munawar Khan and Sarfaraz Mirza Hafiz Beg — were also nabbed in the operation. Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar police commissioner Pravin Pawar said on Thursday that Ashfak’s frequent interstate movement had made it difficult for the police to track him. “We received specific information that he had reached Nashik. Swift action was initiated, and with the help of the Nashik police, he was arrested. He tried to resist and flee at the time of arrest, forcing the police to use mild force,” Pawar added.Police officers said Ashfak was involved in a cough syrup and sleeping pills peddling racket. Considering the possibility of resistance, as Ashfak is allegedly a drug addict himself, the Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar city police coordinated with the Nashik police commissioner Sandeep Karnik and carried out the operation with assistance from local teams.The police also seized a car and Rs 4,74,500 in cash from Ashfak. Mobile phones were recovered from his associates. The total value of the seized property stands at Rs 19,44,500, crime branch inspector Gajanan Kalyankar said.Police commissioner Pawar said Ashfak operated through intermediaries and that the police have been keeping a close watch on those financially backing the racket. So far, 22 members of his gang, including a woman accused, have been arrested. The police obtained a transfer warrant from the court against the woman accused, Ishrat Akeeb Sheikh. Another accused, Sheikh Fardeen Abdul Razzaq of Shahabazar, was also arrested.Deputy commissioner of Police Ratnakar Navale said the police sought cooperation from the municipal corporation to verify the legality of constructions at the residences of 60 accused linked to the drug peddling rackets. The accused were involved in selling narcotics and supplying them to customers. “We will strike at the roots of these accused,” DCP Navale said, adding that repeated offences were reported from certain buildings. The list was shared even as anti-encroachment drives were underway, and officials indicated that this step was being seen as the first move towards possible bulldozer action.CP Pawar said action under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) would be initiated against drug trafficking gangs and that those funding such rackets would be monitored. Over the past three years, the anti-narcotics cell has arrested 731 accused, many of whom were lodged in distant prisons across Maharashtra.Highlighting the broader crackdown, assistant commissioner (crime) Ashok Rajput said 12 gangs in the city have been booked under MCOCA, leading to the arrest of 85 accused.
