Marijuana farmer from Dhule held by Mumbai police for growing, selling drug

MUMBAI: A farmer allegedly engaged in marijuana farming on Maharashtra-Madhya Pradesh border and supplying it to sellers in different states has been arrested by Mumbai police. Raisingh Pawra (55) was nabbed from his home in Dhule district amid opposition from locals. Police from Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh had long been looking for Pawra.
In February, a peddler was arrested with 50 kg of marijuana in Malad (east). He led them to two couples in Andheri-MIDC area who were supplying the drugs. With their arrests, police recovered over 22 kg of marijuana worth Rs 2.3 lakh from a godown at Andheri from where the gang was delivering the drug to peddlers and buyers. One of the accused was hearing- and speech-impaired, the police said.
A further investigation led the police team to Dhule from where the drugs were being sourced. Two men, who would ferry marijuana from Pawra's farm to neighbouring towns for handing it over to sellers, were arrested.
"We were constantly monitoring Pawra as it wasn't easy to pick him up from his home. We learnt that he was travelling to another area and were all set to nab him. But he left the journey midway and returned home on learning that his wife had lost the gram panchayat elections," said investigating officer Suraj Raut.
A police team led by Raut and three constables eventually entered Pawra's residence. They faced opposition from locals, but somehow managed to get the farmer out of his home town. The police are now checking his call records to see if he has links with other drug suppliers.
In a separate case, the Anti-Narcotics Cell of Mumbai police arrested a man with 95 gm of cocaine worth Rs 28.5 lakh on December 21. The arrest was made near Mankhurd T-junction on Sion-Panvel highway late evening, according to the police.