Mumbai's drug trafficking: Female peddlers dominate the industry

Drug dealer was caught red-handed at Andheri while he was about to sell the drug to a customer near Nityanand Muncipal school

The name of notorious drug queen Shashikala alias Baby Patankar, 57, first cropped up in 2015, after she was arrested for allegedly smuggling 122 kg of mephedrone (MD) worth crores of rupees. Patankar had scripted a spectacular growth in the narcotics trade in the short span of a few decades, having started out as a small-time peddler - smuggling drugs like marijuana and brown sugar - before emerging as one of the biggest dealers of MD in the state. Switch to three years later, more and more women in the city are getting their hands dirty in the drug business.

According to the Anti-Narcotics Cell (ANC) of the Mumbai crime branch, the involvement of women peddlers has significantly spiralled, with as many as 16 women being arrested in the city until September 7 this year. The rise in the involvement of women - last year, the ANC only made four arrests - has forced law enforcers to re-examine the changing face of the drug peddling industry. Women are no longer just working as foot-soldiers, but entirely taking over the businesses from their husbands and fathers, authorities said. Strict procedures, which make it difficult to arrest women, have only made it a more lucrative option for them.

Female peddlers seen selling drugs outside a college in Santa Cruz. File pic

Why women
According to the police, men prefer their wives or sisters to take over the business, as they can easily escape the clutches of law. "There is a strict procedure for arresting women. As per the law, women can only be arrested after sunrise or before sunset, else, the arrest is illegal. Also, according to the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, only a female cop can search a women suspect," said Shivdeep Lande, deputy commissioner of police, ANC.

"This is done to prevent any unpleasant situation, as these suspects often make allegations against the police. There have been instances where these female suspects have stripped in front of the police, during the raids. The police team then has to face the wrath of the locals," said another official. The official said that as most of these women are from the lower strata of the society and uneducated, "they get into the trade for easy money or to support the family". "Many are qualified to work only as maids, but by selling narcotics they earn far more."

Shashikala alias Baby Patankar

In January this year, the ANC's Azad Maidan unit arrested Reshma Khan, 25, and Nasrin Sheikh for smuggling 75,000 tablets of a synthetic drug (button). Khan, who is still behind bars, took over the business from her father, Muzahim. Rani Barasiya, 56, who was arrested with 5 kg of ganja from Worli Dairy last month, also inherited the business from her father. Barsaiya's family used to previously run a liquor den in the city, where she worked at the cash counter. "The family gradually moved into narcotics," said an official with the ANC. This is not the first time that Barasiya has had a run in with the law. She has been charged under the NDPS Act four times before, for openly selling drugs on Worli Sea Face.

Most of the women, who sell drugs are trained from an early age. Zeenat Shaikh, 27, who was arrested for smuggling ganja this year, learned the tricks of the trade from her mother, who sold drugs in the Sewri and Wadala area. She allegedly started off by purchasing drugs, and passing it on to her mother, who would then sell it to college students. Shaikh took over the business when her mother fell ill. She has been on the radar for a while, but was finally arrested in April, this year.

Shivdeep Lande, deputy commissioner of police, ANC

Soft targets
During investigations, the police learned that most female peddlers have been running the business near colleges in the suburbs of Mumbai. In August this year, ANC arrested nine peddlers with 9.3 kg of ganja. Two women, Tayabai Wadekar, 65, and Jasunda Gaikwad 50, were part of the racket. According to sources, the duo had been selling drugs to colleges students in the area for many years. Similarly, Kandivli's ANC unit arrested five women with 7.3 kg ganja near a few colleges in Goregaon.

The accused Shashikala Shinde, 55, Kamali Shinde, 36, Parvati Dhangar, 35, Lasadmary Arjun, 37 and Kamala Kapur, 55, had been selling ganja near railway tracks to college students, who studied in the vicinity. "These arrests by the ANC has disturbed the distribution line of the peddlers as they are now aware that even women are being arrested," an official said. DCP Lande said that this year, the police have managed to negotiate the "strict procedures" in the law, and take consistent action against female peddlers.

Also Read: Drugs worth Rs 25 crore seized in Delhi, three foreigners arrested

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