Ephedrine case: Thane police likely to name Kenyan druglords

The interrogation of a Nigerian drug peddler in April, followed by a series of arrests, led the Thane Police to the premises of Avon Lifesciences Limited in Solapur where they found 20 tonnes of Ephedrine. According to the police, Ephedrine, a controlled substance used to make medicines, was being diverted from the company and sent to a drug cartel in Africa allegedly headed by Goswami. It is alleged that Goswami’s network was using it to prepare party drug Meth. Following this, 10 persons were arrested and seven, including Goswami and Kulkarni, named as wanted accused.

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The police have named everyone who attended a meeting at Blitz hotel in Kenya in January as accused in the case. It is believed that the decisions regarding how the Ephedrine was to be transferred to Kenya and converted into Meth were taken at this meeting. The meeting was attended by Goswami, Kulkarni, one “Dr Abdullah” and “two others” as per the supplementary chargesheet.

“We have intelligence that these two were Bakhtash Akasha and Ibrahim Akasha. We didn’t identify them in the chargesheet as we want another confirmation,” said a senior officer. A source said they were awaiting the arrest of accused Kishore Rathod, son of a former Gujarat legislator who attended the meeting, and cross-verify the same with him before naming the duo.

Akasha brothers are sons of Ibrahim Akasha, a billionaire and alleged drug baron who was gunned down in Amsterdam in 2000 after fleeing Kenya. The Akasha brothers then allegedly took over the mantle of their father’s drug empire.