Ex-Air Hostess from Santacruz Arrested with Rs 30 Lakh Drugs En Route to Mumbai
Surat Crime Branch arrested a 41-year-old former airline cabin crew member and her 20-year-old associate, both residents of Mumbai's Santacruz area, on Monday for allegedly attempting to smuggle 977 grams of mephedrone worth Rs 30 lakh into the city from Gujarat.
The operation was carried out after the Surat Crime Branch received specific information regarding an interstate drug smuggling attempt involving a large quantity of mephedrone, commonly known as MD, being transported by road from Vadodara to Mumbai. Based on the intelligence input, police officials monitored the route and intercepted a suspicious vehicle near a toll post on the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway.
The occupants of the vehicle were identified as Mansi Sayed, a former cabin crew member with Malaysian Airlines, and her alleged associate Sohail Suleman Shaikh. Both were detained on the spot after police searched the car and recovered the drug consignment.
Officials stated that Sayed and Shaikh have known each other for several years. During preliminary interrogation, the accused disclosed that they had rented a car in Mumbai and travelled to Vadodara specifically to collect the narcotics consignment. They had met an unidentified woman near the Vadodara railway station, from whom they took delivery of the mephedrone.
According to investigators, the accused planned to bring the contraband into Mumbai, where the consignment was to be divided into smaller packets for supply across local channels.
The probe has also placed Sayed's prior background under scrutiny. Police noted that she has a long history of involvement in drug dealing and has allegedly been in touch with a drug network since 2015. Sayed had also been arrested earlier in 2021 in Indore, Madhya Pradesh, after law enforcement officials found approximately 100 grams of drugs in her possession.
Following the arrests, police seized the 977 grams of MD. Officers added that efforts are currently underway to trace and apprehend the unidentified woman who supplied the drugs to the duo near the Vadodara station.
