THANE: Investigators probing the Rs 2,000 crore drug bust case have got a shot in the arm as a special court here issued non-bailable arrest warrants against former Bollywood actor Mamta Kulkarni and alleged international drug lord Vijaygiri aka Vicky Goswami The warrants were issued by the special court of H M Patwardhan on Monday.The investigators claimed to have got "clinching evidence" against them and based on which they want to file a chargesheet, but the duo are declared absconding since their names cropped up in the drug bust, said a senior police officer.Special public prosecutor Shishir Hiray, appearing for the prosecution, in a marathon submission to the special court sought the warrant , and informed the court that they have ample evidence against the duo and their involvement in the drug racket as a prime accused.Hiray pointed out that based on the interrogation of arrested accused, Kulkarni and Goswami are main players in the case and they had set up a well-oiled drug cartel, right from procuring raw material of ephedrine from India and even planned transportation and manufacture of methamphetamine in Kenya.The prosecutor told the court that the arrested accused, Jai Mukhi and Kishor Sinh Rathod, during the probe had mentioned a meeting in a hotel in Kenya, wherein a deal was struck between Goswami, his aides, the Akasha brothers, Mamta, former director of a pharma company, Manoj Jain, Jai Mukhi and Abdullah, were present. "Ample technical evidence, call records are in possession of the investigators and various facts have been revealed during questioning of the arrested accused and statements made by them," Hiray told the court.He pointed out that Mukhi's version was coraborated by another accused, Kishorsinh Rathod, son of a former Congress MLA from Gujarat, who was arrested in January after nine months on the run."They also had plans to make Mamta a director of Avon Life Sciences Pvt Ltd," Hiray told the court.The police, from time-to-time visited the addresses of Mamta and Goswami and even statements of people who knew them were recorded. Hiray produced a case diary for the court's satisfaction too. Finally, the court on Monday issued the warrants against the duo.Goswami is in US custody. In January, Goswami, Ibrahim and Baktash Akasha as well as Gulam Hussein were extradited from Kenya to the US.Their names had cropped up during the probe by Thane police in the Rs 2,000 crore drug bust. They were arrested in November 2014 in a sting operation by US Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) officers posing as Colombian drug dealers. Goswami and his aides were accused of conspiring to ship at least 98 kg of high-grade heroin and methamphetamine to the US.On April 14, the Thane crime branch seized over 20 tonnes of ephedrine and 2.5 tonnes of acetic anhydride, both banned party drugs from a pharmaceutical factory in Solapur and other locations in Thane and Mumbai. Investigations led the sleuths to the involvement of Goswami and Kenyan based international drug mafia involved in the racket.In September 2016, a battery of legal hawks, some from abroad, refuted the involvement of Mamta in the case.Mukhi had earlier testified before a magistrate court but later turned the tables that his confession was under pressure from investigators.

Stay updated with all the Latest Thane headlines here. For more exclusive & live news updates from all around India, stay connected with NYOOOZ.