Thane paan seller held for stocking drugs worth Rs 2.80 lakh

THANE: The Narcotics Cell of Thane police has arrested a street side cigarette-pan vendor and recovered 2.8kg charas worth Rs 2.80 lakh from his possession. Working on a tip-off that a the road side cigarette vendor near Thane railway station is indulged in selling charas, sleuths from the Thane anti narcotics cell apprehended Ashok Jaiswar with a bag containing charas."Prior to holi the accused had visited his native place (Uttar Pradesh). Prima facie the investigation is of the opinion that the pan vendor got the charas from his native place with intention to make quick money by selling the product in Thane," Mandar Dharmadhikari, senior police inspector from Thane anti-narcotics cell said. "Jaiswar was in possession of charas for nearly month as he was not finding suitable buyer for it," Dharmadhikari added.The 39-year-old accused has been booked under the NDPS ACT and was produced before the court. The accused has been remanded to five days police custody.Asked whether Jaiswar is involved in the business for long, one of the police official investigating the case said, "During the investigations it will be clear whether Jaiswar has done similar trades earlier or was this his first attempt to sell charas in the market."