Mumbai/UNI: An associate of fugitive gangster Dawood Ibrahim who was on the run for years has been finally traced and arrested by the district police from Nalla Sopara in Mumbai on Tuesday, the police said on Wednesday.
An official of the Anti-terrorist Squad of the district rural police said that the arrested accused, Akhtar Kasamali Merchant, 56, who is associated with Dawood had set up his own gang.
Through the gang, he used to resort to various crimes like extortion, kidnapping, etc, and also contacts with the drug lords.
He had let loose a reign of terror in Thane rural, Mira Road, Nagpada, Mumbai, Vasai- Virar region.
He was wanted in an offense of 364(A), 384,506 rw 34 of the IPC and also section 3 and 25 of the Arms Act, registered in Naya Nagar police station of Thane district rural police in 2018.
Since then he was on the run. The other accused in the case have already been arrested.
As he was a resident of Nalla Sopara the district police kept a vigil and watch on his activities.
Since December 2018 he was in hiding in Nepal and Bangladesh the police said. He returned to Mumbai recently.
On Tuesday, a team of officials of the ATS got a tip-off that he was coming to Nalla Sopara upon which they laid a trap and nabbed him at the Civic Centre chowk.
The accused is involved in several serious offences registered in Mumbai, Maharashtra, and Gujarat.
He was also involved in the fake currency rackets, smuggling activities for Dawood and was active for several years.
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