NCB busts drug network; arrests Dawood aide in Goa

The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) has arrested Danish Chikna, a close aide of fugitive gangster Dawood Ibrahim and "kingpin" of a drug syndicate, along with his wife from Goa, officials said on Wednesday.

Danish Chikna alias Danish Merchant, who had been on the run, looked after operations of the drug network linked to Dawood's gang in the country, an official said.

The NCB has arrested Danish and three other persons and seized 1.341 kg of mephedrone from their possession, he said.

Based on intelligence inputs, the NCB's Mumbai unit on September 18 intercepted one N Gaikwad in Pune, from whom 502 grams of mephedrone was seized.

In the immediate follow-up action, 839 grams of the contraband was seized from another drug associate Zohaib Shaikh in Mumbai. The premises were found to be associated with Henna Shah, wife and key partner of Danish, the official said.

During the probe, Danish, the kingpin, and his wife Henna were identified to be operating the drug syndicate and orchestrating the supply chain from behind the scenes.

Since then, they had been on the run and travelled across multiple states to dodge the movement trail, he said, adding that they were also changing mobile numbers and vehicles to evade arrest, he said.

After intensive follow-up action, they were located at a luxurious holiday resort in Goa, and the NCB team apprehended them from there on October 25. After their interrogation, the duo was placed under arrest, the NCB said in a statement.

Danish, a resident of Dongri in south Mumbai is a habitual drug offender. He has been previously arrested by NCB in 2021 in a case involving siezure of CBCS and Ganja.

He was also booked by the Rajasthan police in 2021 and also by Mumbai Police under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, according to the official.

His wife, Henna Bharat Shah, also has a history of involvement in drug-related activities and was actively assisting him in the distribution and concealment operations, he said.

The Mumbai police also registered seven criminal cases against Danish. The police had externed him, ordering him to stay out of the Mumbai municipal limits, the statement said.