On October 11, 2023, the Special Task Force of the Uttar Pradesh Police, along with the Crime Branch of Pune Police, arrested two accused in relation to the MDMA drugs worth Rs 300 crores which were recovered in Maharashtra.
The Joint Operation
The Assistant Commissioner of Police of the Crime Branch of the Pune Police, Sunil Tambe, informed the Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force (STF) that the two accused were present in Lucknow, the capital of UP and were trying to flee to Nepal, and thereafter, they were apprehended and caught by the UP Special Task Force in Bahraich turn, Barabanki District of Uttar Pradesh
The arrested and the accused are Abhishek Bilas Balakwade and Bhushan Anil Patil, and they were involved in a lot of drug trafficking cases in Maharashtra. The STF has recovered six ATM cards and a number of mobile phones and carried cash worth Rs 2100. On interrogation, the two accused informed that Bhushan Anil Patil is the younger brother of the drug mafia Lalit Patil and Abhishek Bilas is the manager of Balakwade Lalit Patil’s Drugs Network.
The Interrogation
During the interrogation, the two accused and Lalit Patil were manufacturing the banned MDMA (Methylenedioxymethaneamphetamine) drug, which has been used in pubs, bars and rave parties since 2014. For this work, the factories were set up by them in Aurangabad, Pune and Nashik. After the arrest of Lalit Patil in 2020, his last instruction to his brothers, Anil Patil and Abhishek Balakwade, would take command of the entire gang.
On August 4, 2023, after the names of Lalit Patil and other gang members came up in the recovery of 150kg MD Drugs in Mumbai. Meanwhile, Lalit Patil escaped from police custody by conspiring with Bhushan Anil Patil and Abhishek Bilas Balakwade. The accused also informed that they received raw material for making MDMA drugs from Shivji Shinde of Nashik District.
After the legal proceedings, the arrested and the accused were handed over to the team of the Assistant Police Commissioner of the Pune Crime Branch, who will take further action. Investigations are underway, and further details are awaited.
