SUV crashes into traffic island on Palm Beach Rd, 69 kgs of opium and pistol found inside

George Mendonca

Navi Mumbai: An SUV crashed into a traffic island on the Palm Beach Road in Navi Mumbai early Friday morning, and while its driver abandoned it and escaped before the NRI coastal police team arrived at the spot, the police recovered 69 kgs of opium worth around Rs 70 lakh stuffed in three plastic sacks and a country-made pistol loaded with bullets from inside the vehicle.

Police inspector (crime) Bhaskar Kokare said that the SUV, an MG Hector with a Rajasthan registration number, was going in the direction of CBD-Belapur on Palm Beach Road when the driver lost control and crashed into the traffic island at Nerul traffic signal at around 4.30 am.

The SUV damaged the pole on which a CCTV camera was installed. The vehicle was mangled, but the driver managed to escape. When the police team reached the spot, they found a pungent smell emanating from within the damaged SUV. On checking, they found three plastic sacks inside the boot of the vehicle, along with two small containers containing diesel and petrol. The plastic sacks contained opium weighing 69 kgs and estimated to be worth around Rs 70 lakh. Inside the dashboard was the loaded country-made pistol.

Inspector Kokare said, “The SUV is registered in the name of one Ganpat Birbal Ram, whose residential address is in Rajasthan according to information obtained from the Rajasthan RTO. We have registered an FIR against the unidentified SUV driver who has been booked under the NDPS (Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances) Act along with sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanita and Motor Vehicle Act for rash and negligent driving causing damage to public property.”