Navi Mumbai Police Seize ₹12 Crore Drugs, Arrest 16 Foreign Nationals in ‘Operation Garuda’ | File Photo
Navi Mumbai: In an effort to dismantle the network of foreign nationals involved in drug trafficking, the Navi Mumbai Police on Thursday night launched a special operation, ‘Operation Garuda.’ The police conducted well-planned coordinated raids at various locations, leading to the arrest of 16 foreign nationals.
During this operation, 13 of the suspects were found with drugs, and approximately Rs 12 crore worth of various types of narcotics were seized. Additionally, three foreign nationals with fake passports and visas were also arrested. This marks the third major operation against drug trafficking conducted by the Navi Mumbai Police this year.
Under the direction of Navi Mumbai Police Commissioner Milind Bharambe, the Drug-Free Navi Mumbai campaign was initiated. The campaign targets African nationals involved in drug trafficking and illegal residence in the Navi Mumbai Police jurisdiction.
The orders for these actions were given by Commissioner Milind Bharambe, Joint Commissioner Sanjay Yenpure, Additional Commissioner (Crime) Deepak Sakore, and Deputy Commissioner of Police Amit Kale (Crime Branch).
Following these instructions, Assistant Commissioner of Police Bhausaheb Dhole, under the guidance of Senior Police Inspector Sandeep Nigade from the Anti Narcotics Unit (ANU), along with officers from the Crime Branch and local police stations, carried out a series of raids in Navi Mumbai on Thursday night, December 12, 2024.
The raids took place at 25 locations in the nodes of Kharghar, Taloja, Koparkhairane, Ulwe, and Vashi. As a result, 16 Nigerian nationals involved in drug trafficking and illegally residing in the area were arrested.
Out of these, 13 Nigerian nationals were found with various types of narcotics. Three others were discovered to be staying illegally with fake passports and visas. The police seized drugs worth approximately Rs12 crore, which included cocaine, MD powder, methylene, charas, and ganja. Besides, 73 African nationals with expired passports and visas were issued notices to leave the country.
The planning for Operation Garuda began a week ago. The Navi Mumbai Police had been monitoring the activities of foreign nationals residing in various parts of Navi Mumbai. They gathered confidential information about these individuals. On Thursday night, coordinated raids were carried out at 25 locations, where all foreign nationals residing in those areas were investigated and arrested.
A total of 150 police officers and staff from the Navi Mumbai Police Commissionerate participated in this operation. To maintain secrecy, the officers involved were only informed just before the operation, ensuring no leaks of information.
“We will continue monitoring the foreign nationals and repeat the operation whenever the need arises. Officials of Economic Offence Wing, Crime Branch, ANU and local police stations, were involved in the operation,” ACP Dhole said.
Drugs Seized:
. 2.045 kg of cocaine (estimated worth Rs10.22 crore)
. 663 grams of MD powder (estimated worth Rs1.48 crore)
. 58 grams of methylene (estimated worth Rs 11.6 lakh)
. 23 grams of charas (estimated worth Rs 3.45 lakh)
. 31 grams of ganja (estimated worth Rs 6,000)
