Mamta Kulkarni-ephedrine drug bust case: Court orders attachment of ex-Bollywood actor’s Mumbai properties
In April 2016, the police conducted a raid on Avon Lifesciences Ltd, a Solapur-based pharmaceutical company, and arrested 14 people in connection with the drug racket case.
A special NDPS court in Thane ordered the attachment of properties of former Bollywood actor Mamta Kulkarni in connection with the multi-crore ephedrine drug bust case of 2016 . According to a PTI report, the Special court judge, H M Patwardhan, had last week ordered the attachment of three plush flats owned by Kulkarni in various areas of Mumbai after Kulkarni failed to appear before the court for a second time in connection with the case. The said flats are currently valued at around Rs 20 crore.
Thane police had heavily relied on the statement of a co-accused, Jay Mukhi, to prove Kulkarni’s involvement in the drug racket, who later made an application to retract her statement.
Thane police had filed a fourth chargesheet against Kulkarni and alleged drug lord Vicky Goswami in October last year. The chargesheet was made available to the accused in February, 2018. The police had attached e-mails shared between Kulkarni and a bank manager providing with instructions to make payments. In some of these emails, the sender begins the mail addressing Vicky Goswami. “This proves that Goswami was handling the finances and communicating on behalf of Kulkarni,” Investigating officer Bharat Shelke had said.
The actor has been declared absconding by the court and is believed to have taken refuge in Mombassa, Kenya, along with Goswami.
In April 2016, the police conducted a raid on Avon Lifesciences Ltd, a Solapur-based pharmaceutical company, and arrested 14 people in connection with the drug racket case. However, five others were declared as wanted accused which included Kulkarni and Goswami, the alleged mastermind of the racket. The police said Kulkarni and Goswami had set up a meeting along with his aides in Hotel Bliss in Kenya on January 8, 2016, to discuss details of how Ephedrine from Solapur was to be used to make Meth and sold in the US.
Ephedrine powder is used for sniffing and to produce the popular party drug methamphetamine.
Special public prosecutor Hirey said, “We have a statement of a co-accused recorded before a magistrate that says she did attend the meeting at a hotel where the drug deal was discussed.”
Last year, Thane police had started the process of extradition by procuring a Red Corner Notice (RCN) against the actor and Goswami.
The police probe had revealed the seized substance was to be used to make methamphetamine, a party drug, and was being diverted to a Kenya-based drug cartel headed by Goswami.