Thane drug racket: Police looking at involvement of Pakistani, Sri Lankan nationals

Former Bollywood actress Mamta Kulkarni has been named as the prime accused in the case

Police are looking at possible involvement of Pakistani and Sri Lankan nationals in the multi-crore drug racket busted recently, in which former actress Mamta Kulkarni was named as prime accused.

"We are verifying the alleged involvement of Pakistani and Sri Lankan nationals in the racket. We have been exchanging information and inputs gathered with various agencies like CBI, NCB and the United States Drug Enforcement Administration and others," a senior police officer, probing the case, said.

Kulkarni was involved in the multi-crore drug racket linked to drug baron Vicky Goswami, Thane Police claimed.

Statement of Goswami's kin has been recorded by the police in connection with the case, the officer said.

In all, there were 17 accused in the case, of whom seven are still at large. The rest have been arrested and sent in judicial custody. Police have initiated the process for extradition of Kulkarni and Goswami, who are said to be in a relationship and are currently based in Kenya.

The racket came to light when police seized around 18.5 tonne of ephedrine, worth around Rs 2,000 crore, after raiding the premises of Avon Lifesciences Ltd in Maharashtra's Solapur district in April.

According to police, ephedrine, a controlled drug, was allegedly being diverted from the Solapur unit of the company and sent abroad after processing.