Pune: The Anti-Drug Squad of the Crime Branch arrested two individuals for possessing mephedrone in the Mahatma Gandhi Road area of the Lashkar police station. The duo was apprehended after a raid on a shop in Kolshe Galli, where police seized 77 grams of mephedrone, valued at ₹15.70 lakhs.

The arrested individuals have been identified as Hussein Nur Khan (21) and Faizan Ayaz Sheikh (22), both residents of Kondhwa. Faizan operates a lock shop in Kolsha Galli on Mahatma Gandhi Road. The Anti-Drug Squad had received intelligence about the covert trafficking and sale of mephedrone in the city. Just two days ago, the police had seized mephedrone worth ₹23 lakhs from the Yerwada area.

Based on information from a police officer, Vishal Dalvi, about a large stock of mephedrone being stored in Kolshe Galli, the police set up a trap and successfully arrested Faizan and Hussein. The authorities seized mephedrone worth ₹15.70 lakhs from their possession.

The operation was carried out under the guidance of Additional Commissioner Shailesh Balkavde and Deputy Commissioner Nikhil Pingale, with the assistance of Senior Police Inspector Ulhas Kadam, Assistant Inspector Aniket Pote, and other police staff including Sandeep Kakade, Vishal Dalvi, Vinayak Salve, Pravin Utthekar, Dattaram Jadhav, Vipul Gaikwad, Rehana Sheikh, and Yogesh Mohite.