Actor Mamta Kulkarni’s 3 plush Mumbai flats attached in connection with 2,000 crore drug bust
Thane police named Mamta Kulkarni (inset) as prime accused in the drug racket linked to drug baron Vicky Goswami
A special NDPS court in Thane ordered authorities to attach the properties of former Bollywood actor Mamta Kulkarni, who is one of the main accused in the multi-crore drug racket unearthed in 2016.
After the actress failed to appear before the court last week, the special NDPS court judge, H M Patwardhan, ordered the attachment of three plush flats owned by Kulkarni in various areas of Mumbai.
The flats are valued at around Rs 20 crore as per current market rates.
The court directed for attachment of the three after the prosecution moved an application for it. The court declared Kulkarni as ‘absconding’ after she failed to appear before it in connection with the near Rs 2,000 crore drug bust case.
Two years back, Kulkarni was named as the prime accused in the drug racket linked to drug baron Vicky Goswami. Police claimed that she was actively involved in illicit activities.
A senior Thane police official had then said that they would initiate the process for the extradition of Kulkarni and Goswami, who were said to be in a relationship and based in Kenya in Africa.
On June 6 last year, Goswami and Kulkarni were declared as proclaimed absconders by a Thane court and the police had subsequently moved the court to attach the actor’s properties.
Special Public Prosecutor Shishir Hirey said the application seeking attachment of properties was kept pending to give an opportunity to both the accused.
The judge, however, gave the order to attached the flats after it became evident that the duo had no plans of appearing before the court.
The drug racket came to light when police seized around 18.5 tonnes of ephedrine, worth approximately Rs 2,000 crore, after raiding the premises of Avon Lifesciences Ltd in Maharashtra’s Solapur district in April 2016.
According to the police, ephedrine, a controlled drug, was allegedly being diverted from the Solapur unit of Avon Lifesciences and sent abroad after processing. Its powder is used for sniffing and to produce the popular party drug methamphetamine.
Just before the racket came to light, 100 kg of ephedrine was manufactured at Avon Lifesciences premises and dispatched by air to Kenya. The payment for the same was sent by Goswami to Mukesh Jain, a director of the company, through hawala.
