Travel agency staff caught red-handed in drug-peddling

Lokmat News Network

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar:

A shocking revelation has come to light that employees of a travel agency transporting passengers are involved in the smuggling of drugs and narcotic pills in the city. The Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) squad intercepted a travel bus on the Mumbai-Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar route, uncovering this racket, on Saturday early morning (at 4 am).

The peddler, Sikandar Khaja Shaikh (32, Patelnagar), the driver, Shabbir Shaikh Shafi Shaikh (42, Jalna), and the cleaner, Afroz Khan Nizam Khan (26, Katkat Gate), were caught red-handed and arrested.

It so happened that Police Inspector Geeta Bagawade had received information that narcotic pills and MD drugs, resembling powder, were being transported into the city through a Mumbai-based travel bus. On Saturday morning, the driver of a Sana Travel Agency (NL 01 B 1906) bus was caught bringing the drugs. Acting on orders of the Police Commissioner Praveen Pawar, she set up a trap with her team in the Panchavati Corner area. At 4 am, as the bus arrived and Sikandar approached the driver's window, PSI Sandeep Shinde, along with constables Lalkhan Pathan and Satish Jadhav, apprehended him. Meanwhile, constables Sandipan Dharme, Mahesh Ugle, Vijay Tribhuvan, Rishikesh Shelke, and Chhaya Landge boarded the bus and took the driver and cleaner into custody.

Sweets on top, drugs hidden below

Shabbir was caught red-handed while handing over two boxes of sweets to Sikandar through the bus window. When the police opened the boxes, they found 5.7 grams of MD drugs and 103 narcotic pills inside. According to Shabbir, Azhar from Begumpura had instructed them to carry out this operation. After picking up passengers to Mumbai, a female agent named Nagma Shaikh Baji provided them the drugs. Upon returning to the city with passengers at night, they handed the drugs over to Sikandar. Shabbir confessed that they were paid for doing this.

Advance of Rs 10,000

Sikandar had sent an advance payment of Rs 10,000 to Nagma on August 8. It was discovered from his online payment app that he had sent money to several agents in Mumbai.

Many travel agency employees are involved in the racket

During police interrogation, Sikandar and Shabbir revealed that many employees, drivers, and cleaners of various travel agencies in the city were involved in this drug racket. They mentioned that these individuals are paid well for their involvement and that even employees of some well-known travel companies are part of the racket.

Orders based on demand

Orders for drugs are placed according to the demand from students of reputed colleges, medical colleges, and young men and women in the city. About eight days before the delivery, the city's peddler gives the travel bus driver the contact number of a peddler in Mumbai to place the order. To avoid suspicion, the drugs are brought in small quantities, hidden in passenger bags or sweet boxes. After this operation, it was revealed that transactions worth lakhs of rupees occur every other day.