Berhampur: The Anti-Narcotics Cell (ANC) of the Mumbai Crime Branch arrested kingpin of an inter-state drug syndicate and his aide from Berhampur in Odisha’s Ganjam district in an NDPS case.
The kingpin, Laxmikant Pradhan, and his aide Bidyadhar Pradhan of Kumarada village under K Nuagaon police station were wanted in a two-year-old case in which 1820 kg ganja worth Rs 3.85 crore was seized in Mumbai. They were arrested from Golanthara in the city on Saturday, Berhampur SP Saravana Vivek M said on Wednesday. Both were taken to Mumbai on transit remand.
The ANC’s Ghatkopar unit busted an inter-state drug syndicate by arresting three persons with the ganja in December 2021. During investigation, it was revealed that the contraband was procured from Odisha. An offence under relevant sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act (NDPS Act) was registered against them.
Laxmikant was found to be moving in different cities of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh to evade arrest. After months of search, the ANC officials got a specific tip-off that Laxmibhai and Bidyadhar were in Odisha. Accordingly, a team was dispatched from Mumbai to the eastern state and the duo was nabbed, sources said.
