Drug racket operating on WhatsApp busted; one arrested

Mumbai Police's anti-narcotics cell has busted a drug racket being operated through mobile messaging application WhatsApp and arrested one person, an official said on Tuesday.

As part of the racket, peddlers used to take drug orders from college students through WhatsApp, he said.

The anti-narcotics cell got the information sometime back that some drug peddlers had switched over from their conventional mode of communication to app-based services.

"During the probe, it found that drug peddlers were using social messaging platforms to sell marijuana to college students," he said.

Acting on a tip-off, the police laid a trap on Monday evening and nabbed Sunil Rajdev Das (29) near Navinchand Popatlal Kapadiya Vidya Mandir in Vile Parle and seized 9 kg of marijuana worth Rs 1.8 lakh from him, Deputy Commissioner of Police (anti-narcotics cell) Shivdeep Lande said.

"Following the interrogation of Das, the police came to know that his gang was using WhatsApp to sell drugs to students, mainly in suburban colleges," he said.

Search was on for the other gang members, he said, adding that the accused was booked under provisions of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act.

Last week also, the anti-narcotics cell seized 16 kg of ganja worth Rs 3.2 lakh from another person, Arman Shaikh (20), and arrested him from P D'Mello road, he said.