Pune: The city crime branch on Monday secured production warrants of drug kingpin Lalit Patil and his aides Shivaji Shinde and Rohitkumar Chaudhary from a magisterial court in Pune to secure their custody from the Mumbai police.A Mumbai court on Monday sent Patil to magisterial custodyremand for 14 days at the end of his custodial remand in a drug haul case registered by the Sakinaka police on August 8.Sakinaka police had rearrested Patil on October 17 near Bengaluru after he escaped from Sassoon General Hospital on October 2.Pune police are waiting to secure his custody in two separate cases, ie — the Rs2.14 crore mephedrone (MD) drug haul from his aide, Subhash Mandal, on October 1 at the Sassoon hospital gate and the case of his escape.We have already secured production warrants in the name of Patil and two others from the Pune court and we will be submitting the same to the Mumbai court on Tuesday. We will seek permission of the court there and seek custody of Patil and others from the Arthur Road central jail. We will bring them to Pune, DCP (crime) Amol Zende told TOI.He said, Patils questioning will help us establish his individual role and unearth the larger conspiracy in the two crimes. Interrogation of Shinde and Kumar is essential to establish their individual roles in the drug haul case being investigated by the crime branch.Co-accused Pradnya Kamble, Rehan Shaikh alias Golu and Arvindkumar Lohare and Bhushan Patil, Abhishek Balkawade and Rosary education group partner Vinay Aranha arrested in the escape case were remanded in magisterial custody following expiry of their initial custodial remand.We also published the following articles recentlyDrug kingpin Patil in Aranhas flat with co-accused two days before escape: CopsLalit Patil, a drug kingpin, frequently visited a partner of the Rosary education group, Vinay Aranha, in his flat in Pune. Prior to his escape from the hospital, Patil met with co-accused Archana Nikam in Aranhas flat to finalize his escape plan. A jeweler in Nashik has been detained for questioning as investigations revealed that he had given 70 lakh rupees to Patil to facilitate his movement after the escape. Aranha, Patils brother, and a close aide have been remanded in custody until October 30 in relation to the escape case.Lalit Patil Case: Mumbai Police launch search operation for MD drug packets in Girna river in Nashiks DeolaThe Sakinaka police in Mumbai are searching for packets of MD drugs that were allegedly thrown into the Girna River in Nashik by Sachin Wagh, the driver of Lalit Patil, who is a drug case accused. Scuba divers have been deployed to aid in the search, and Wagh accompanied the police during the operation. The drugs were reportedly disposed of following raids on a drug manufacturing unit and godown in Nashik. The police have not confirmed whether the drugs have been recovered from the river.Mumbai Police to search Nashik water body in Rs 305 crore drug haul caseA team from Saki Naka police in Mumbai will search a water body in Nashik to recover drug packets allegedly dumped by Sachin Wagh, the 16th person arrested in a 151kg mephedrone drug seizure case. The drug, valued at around Rs 305 crore, was seized from Shree Ganeshay Pharmaceuticals owned by Lalit Patil and his brother Bhushan Patil. Lalit is believed to be the mastermind of the drug operation, while Bhushan manufactures the drugs at a Nashik unit. Police suspect the use of hawala to transfer the funds earned from drug sales.

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