Noida police recently busted a narcotics smuggling ring in Noida, Uttar Pradesh and arrested five accused, including ringleader Imran. The Phase 2 police seized cash worth ₹38,000 and 11 kg of illegal marijuana, valued at around ₹1,00,000, from the possession of the accused, who were nabbed near Bhuda Tiraha in Sector 81. The accused have been identified as Santosh Gupta from Mainpuri, Shaukeen from Bulandshahr, Sonu from Delhi, Afsar from Bulandshahr and Mohammad Irfan from Badayun.
As per reports, the police said that the accused used to source marijuana at low prices from West Bengal and sell it in the national capital region at higher prices. ADGP Central Noida Zone, Shaivya Goyal, said that a team of police led by Phase 2 Station House Officer Vindhyanchal Tiwari has been working for some time to nab the accused, who are auto-drivers by profession. The accused used to procure marijuana from West Bengal mainly by train. They used to get off the train at smaller stations and then continue their journey to Noida via roads to avoid being caught. They used to carry marijuana in their backpacks concealed within their clothes. The accused used to communicate only through WhatsApp calls to escape surveillance.
The accused used to sell marijuana at schools, colleges, and other similar places. During the investigation, the police found that all the accused are uneducated. Accused Santosh Gupta is uneducated and currently lives on a footpath in Sector 4 of Noida. Similarly, Sonu and ringleader Irfan are also uneducated and reside in Sector 142 of Noida and Shiv Shakti Enclave, in the Phase 2 police station area of Noida, respectively. Accused Shaukeen had studied up to the 5th standard and lives in Jaitpur village in Delhi. And, Afsar has studied up to the 3rd standard and currently lives in the Kalindi Kunj area of Delhi. The police revealed that Imran has been smuggling narcotics since 2016 and was previously jailed. The other accused also have criminal cases pending against them.