The Pune City police have invoked the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) against nine members of a drug racket gang, including five women. Police identified the prime accused as Aarti Mahadev Misal alias Aarti Vishal Satpute alias Aarti Mukesh Chavan (37), a resident of Inamake chawl in Lohiya Nagar. Acting on a tipoff, a team from Khadak police station led by inspector Sunil Dorge had arrested two persons, identified as Gopinath Navnath Misal (22) of Lohiya Nagar and Hussain Papa Shaikh (28) of Santacruz, Mumbai, on December 15 last year, police said.
During investigation, police arrested five more persons, including Aarti Misal and her aides Pooja Mahadev Misal alias Pooka Jyotiba Tambve (32), Nilofar Hayat Shaikh (27) of Harka Nagar, Azahar alias Chuha Hayat Shaikh (24) of Harka Nagar and Rocky Singh Kalyani (23) of Ramtekdi, Hadapsar, on January 1. The probe revealed the gang members used to procure brown sugar from two women in Mumbai, identified as Ayesha alias Ashabai Papa Shaikh and Julaikhabi Papa Shaikh. Search is on for both.