Overview
- Merchant, known as Danish Chikna, was apprehended with his wife Henna Bharat Shah at a luxury resort in Anjuna on October 25 after weeks on the run.
- The operation began with a September 18–19 interception in Pune that yielded 502 grams of mephedrone, followed by a 839-gram seizure from a Mumbai premises linked to the couple.
- NCB says four people are in custody, including Merchant, his wife, N. Gaikwad and Zohaib Shaikh, with the total haul reaching 1.341 kg of mephedrone.
- Officials describe Merchant as a close associate of Dawood Ibrahim with prior NDPS cases in Mumbai and Rajasthan, seven additional criminal cases, and an externment order from Mumbai limits.
- Investigators are examining supplier networks, customer lists and financial transactions across states, with the agency indicating more arrests could follow.