Sun Dec 15 07:40:12 UTC 2024: ## Dawood Ibrahim Associate Arrested in Mumbai Drug Bust
**Mumbai, India –** Danish Merchant, a key associate of notorious gangster Dawood Ibrahim and known as “Danish Chikna,” was arrested Friday in Mumbai in connection with a major drug trafficking case, police announced. Merchant, allegedly responsible for managing Ibrahim’s drug operations in the Dongri area, was apprehended alongside his associate, Kader Ghulam Sheikh.
The arrests are the culmination of a months-long investigation that began with the November 8th seizure of 144 grams of drugs from Mohammed Ashikur Sahidur Rahman near Marine Lines Station. Subsequent arrests of Rehan Shakeel Ansari (55 grams of drugs seized) and now Merchant and Sheikh followed a trail of information provided during interrogations. Ansari reportedly implicated Merchant and Qadir Fanta as suppliers.
Merchant, a wanted accused, was located and arrested along with Fanta in Dongri on December 13th following a carefully planned police operation. Both men reportedly confessed their involvement.
This arrest holds particular significance given Merchant’s past. He was previously arrested in Rajasthan in 2019 following the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB)’s dismantling of a Dawood Ibrahim-linked drug factory in Dongri, a raid that resulted in the seizure of crores of rupees worth of narcotics. His recent release preceded his latest arrest. The police investigation continues.
First Piper 