Lonikand police have arrested seven people and seized 128 grams of mephedrone, three country-made pistols, five live cartridges and three cars during raids conducted at multiple locations in Pune district over seven days. The total value of the seized material has been estimated at Rs 23.27 lakh, according to the police.
The first arrest was made on October 29 at Katkewadi Phata, where police detained Pratik alias Sonya Dattatray Hole, 35, a resident of Lonikand. Police said they recovered 19 grams of mephedrone, a country-made pistol, two live cartridges and a car from him. The value of the seized material in that operation was estimated at Rs 9.22 lakh.
According to the police, questioning of Hole led investigators to two more suspects. Vishal Shivaji Makar, 26, from Dhok Sangvi in Shirur, and Somnath Sanjay Gore, 24, from Handewadi in Hadapsar, were detained at Khandobamal on October 30. Two pistols and three live cartridges were recovered from them, the police said.
The investigation then moved to the old toll naka at Perne. Acting on technical analysis, a police team laid a trap at the location on November 3 and detained four more people: Vishal alias Dada Ramdas Kolte, 34, from Bakori; Rajuram Umedram Chanwel, also identified as Chaudhary, 34, originally from Rajasthan and currently residing in Ranjangaon; Vaibhav Balu Khedkar, 28, from Ranjangaon; and Shivam Prashant Dedage, 21, from Sanaswadi.
Police said the Perne operation resulted in the seizure of 109 grams of mephedrone and two cars, with the seized material valued at Rs 13.36 lakh. Combined with the earlier seizures, the operation involved 128 grams of the synthetic drug, three firearms, five cartridges and three vehicles.
The police are now examining the financial transactions of the arrested suspects and investigating what they described as the backward and forward linkages of the drug and weapons supply chain. Authorities said further action against other members of the network was under way.
The investigation is being led by Assistant Police Inspector Gajanan Kagane. The operation was carried out by a team supervised by Senior Police Inspector Sunita Rokade and Police Inspector (Crime) Swati Khedkar, along with other officers and personnel from Lonikand police station.
