PUNE: The Pune crime branch arrested a 19-year-old man and seized 53.52 grams of mephedrone (MD), an illegal synthetic drug, worth around ₹ 1.60 lakh during a raid near Gultekdi on Wednesday, police said on Thursday.
A police team laid a trap near the southern gate of the apartment on a public road and detained Yash Raju Arane, who was allegedly carrying the drug for sale. The juvenile was handed over to Swargate police for further investigation. The operation was carried out under the guidance of additional commissioner of police (crime) Tejaswi Satpute, deputy commissioner of police (crime) Gauhar Hasan and assistant commissioner of police (crime) Shankar Khatke.
Anti-Narcotics Cell (ANC) Unit 1 carried out the action after police received information that a person would come near Chittaranjan Apartment in Gultekdi to sell the drug. Police seized the drug, along with a two-wheeler worth ₹ 50,000 and a mobile phone valued at ₹ 10,000. The total value of the seized items was around ₹ 2.20 lakh, police said. A case has been registered at Swargate police station under Sections 8(c), 22(c) and 29 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act. It was led by ANC Unit 1 senior police inspector Trupti Sonawane and her team.
Police said a juvenile in conflict with law was also detained during the operation, while another person fled the spot.
