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By:

Dr. Abhilash Dawre

19 March 2025 at 5:18:41 pm

Rs 27 crore worth narcotics seized; inter-state cartel uncovered

Thane : In a major breakthrough against drug trafficking, Mumbra police have seized a massive stockpile of mefedrone valued at approximately 27.21 crore. Acting on critical intelligence, the Narcotics Control Unit conducted a special operation extending as far as Madhya Pradesh, resulting in the arrest of five key drug traffickers involved in supplying large quantities of mefedrone to the Thane region.   The operation was led by Assistant Police Inspector Rohit Kedar and Ganesh Jadhav under...

Rs 27 crore worth narcotics seized; inter-state cartel uncovered

Thane : In a major breakthrough against drug trafficking, Mumbra police have seized a massive stockpile of mefedrone valued at approximately 27.21 crore. Acting on critical intelligence, the Narcotics Control Unit conducted a special operation extending as far as Madhya Pradesh, resulting in the arrest of five key drug traffickers involved in supplying large quantities of mefedrone to the Thane region.   The operation was led by Assistant Police Inspector Rohit Kedar and Ganesh Jadhav under the supervision of Senior Police Inspector Anil Shinde. The initial seizure took place near Bilal Hospital, where suspect Basu Sayyed was caught with 23.5 grams of mefedrone. Further interrogation revealed a large-scale supply chain sourcing drugs from Madhya Pradesh.   Subsequently, police arrested Ramsingh Gujjar and Kailas Balai, recovering an additional 3.515 kilograms of mefedrone from their possession. Investigations traced the supply back to two major traffickers Manohar Gurjar and Raju Mansuri based in Madhya Pradesh.   The Mumbra police team then traveled to Madhya Pradesh, arresting both Gurjar and Mansuri and confiscating a staggering 9.956 kilograms of mefedrone from them.   In total, the operation resulted in the seizure of 13.6295 kilograms of mefedrone, with a street value exceeding 27.21 crore. All five accused have been taken into custody.   According to police sources, the arrested individuals have prior records involving serious offenses under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, Indian Penal Code, and Arms Act. They were engaged in trafficking mefedrone in bulk quantities from Madhya Pradesh to the Thane region.   This successful operation was carried out under the guidance of ACP Priya Damale (Kalwa Division), Senior Police Inspector Anil Shinde, Crime Inspector Sharad Kumbhar, and supported by the NDPS unit officers and staff of Mumbra Police Station.   Since January this year, Mumbra police’s NDPS unit has conducted 954 seizures and 58 raids, confiscating narcotics worth over 48 crore, significantly impacting drug trafficking activities in the area.

India now tops world in e3w, second in e2W sales

Mumbai: In a commendable feat, India has now tops the world in electric 3-wheeler sales accounting for 57 pc of all global sales, and ranks second in electric 2-wheeler sales with a 6 pc world share in 2024, a new report on Zero Emission Vehicles (ZEV) transition released as the COP-3) in Brazil.

 

The COP-30 Progress Update, has attributed these achievements to the strong policies of the Indian government, especially PM E-Drive and FAME, that helped slash the price gaps between electric and petrol vehicles, pushing large-scale adoption across last-mile transport and encouraging major private investments.

 

India’s strategy to combat pollution levels has been to target the vehicles most common on its roads – two and three wheelers, which account for nearly 80 pc of the total automobiles sales in the country.

 

This targeted approach has led to a cycle where more sales encourage more investment, which further accelerates the market, as per the report shared by International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) India.

 

The PM E-Drive Scheme further boosts adoption by supporting the sale of 2.5 million e2w’s and 320,000 e3w’s, backed by a USD-315 million outlay for vehicles and charging infrastructure.

 

It has pushed private and public sector to act, like a major delivery company committing to convert its entire fleet into EVs in five years, some state and local governments assuring to partially convert their fleets of official or public transport vehicles to electric.

 

Even globally, EV adoption is increasing despite policy shifts in some advanced economies. EVs notched18 pc of all global light-duty vehicles in 2024, up from 14 pc in 2023, and likely to go up further this year.

 

With France, Spain, and Croatia showering more consumer incentives, UK and Canada refining ZEV mandates, the public charging points world over have doubled from 2.50 million (2022) to over 5 million now.

 

Racing to keep up, India has recorded a 23 pc year-on-year rise in light-duty EV sales from 2023 to 2024 and reaching a 2.9 pc EV share in early 2025.

 

The COP-30 report has lauded India’s FAME and PM E-Drive programs - and the EU’s AFIR regulation - as major forces speeding up the global move toward zero-emission mobility.

 

ICCT’s India Managing Director Amit Bhatt emphasized that electrifying India’s dominant vehicle segments is already delivering results. He termed as timely and essential next step the Centre’s fresh push to electrify medium and heavy-duty trucks – which comprise only 3 pc of the total vehicle stock but cough out 44 pc  of transport emissions.


Clean & green leaders: India’s e3w & e2W

The Faster Adoption & Manufacturing of Hybrid & Electric Vehicles (FAME) and PM E-Drive programs helped lower the upfront costs of electric 2 wheelers and electric 3 wheelers, making them price-competitive with ICE equivalents.

 

The transition has been powered by a strong collaboration between government and the private sector, particularly in last-mile delivery, with companies adopting EVs to save costs and working with rental partners to build out the ecosystem.

 

The quick expansion of EV charging networks in the world is driven by encouraging policies - with Europe’s reliance on deployment targets and India’s use of targeted incentives demonstrating two effective and scalable models, as per the COP-30 coming a day before the global meet ends on Friday.

 


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