Overview
- NCB Mumbai said it apprehended Danish Merchant, alias Danish Chikna, and his wife, Henna Bharat Shah, at a holiday resort in Anjuna on October 25 after tracking them across states.
- The probe began with a September 18–19 interception in Pune that yielded 502 grams of mephedrone and led to a further 839 grams seized at a Mumbai location linked to the couple.
- Officials reported four arrests in total, naming associates N. Gaikwad and Zohaib Shaikh, with mephedrone seizures amounting to 1.341 kilograms.
- Authorities describe Merchant, son of gangster Yusuf Chikna, as a habitual offender tied to Dawood Ibrahim’s Dongri network, with prior NDPS cases, seven Mumbai Police cases and an externment order.
- Goa Police briefly questioned Merchant after his detention, and the NCB says further arrests are likely as the investigation advances.