MUMBAI: A close aide of fugitive gangster Dawood Ibrahim was arrested from Nalasopara by the Palghar Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) on Tuesday. Akhtar Merchant (56) has been handed over to the police in a case of extortion and abduction of a businessman in December 2018.
The police said Merchant had fled to Nepal and later made Bangladesh his home. His plan to shift to Nairobi had failed. Merchant came to Mumbai recently and the police got a tip-off that he was to visit his wife in Nalasoparawhere he was nabbed.
The police said that while Merchant was a key Dawood aide, he formed his own gang and was active in the Vasai-Virar belt and Thane. His role in the abduction of a Mira Road businessman was established. He has cases of extortion against him in Mumbai, Thane and Gujarat.
The police said Merchant had fled to Nepal and later made Bangladesh his home. His plan to shift to Nairobi had failed. Merchant came to Mumbai recently and the police got a tip-off that he was to visit his wife in Nalasoparawhere he was nabbed.
The police said that while Merchant was a key Dawood aide, he formed his own gang and was active in the Vasai-Virar belt and Thane. His role in the abduction of a Mira Road businessman was established. He has cases of extortion against him in Mumbai, Thane and Gujarat.
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