Mumbai: The Anti Narcotic Cell of Mumbai police on Wednesday arrested the live-in partner of a bar dancer who was arrested along with 5,000 MDMA (Ecstasy pills) worth Rs 6 crore early this week.The Ghatkopar ANC unit arrested Amir Sayyed, the live-in partner of Ashwini Paul, taking the number of arrests to 4. The duo are suspected to be key links in a wider drug supply network operating across Mumbai and other parts of Maharashtra. Police said Paul and Sayyed played a key role in the drug peddling racket. Investigators are now probing the roles of both in sourcing and distribution of party drugs across the state. During the raid, police also seized five mobile phones and eight SIM cards from their possession.According to investigators, Ashwini’s entry into the drug trade began after her partner was sent to jail. While visiting him in prison, she came in contact with a drug trafficker named Irfan Ansari. Police said Irfan lured her into the illegal trade by promising quick money and gradually involved her in drug distribution, a network that investigators believe that Sayyed was also actively part of.Ashwini is educated only up to Class 10. She moved to Mumbai in 2012 in search of work and started working in a dance bar. Over time, she allegedly began supplying party drugs based on demand, spreading her network from Mumbai to several other parts of the state. Police said she mainly targeted college-going youths, selling drug pills for prices ranging between Rs 1,500 and Rs 2,000.Earlier, police had arrested Irfan Ansari and a man named Sufiyan from Saki Naka in Andheri East with 200 pills. Based on information received from them, police traced the supply chain to Ashwini and Syed, and carried out the raid at their residence.
