Who is Danish Merchant, close aide of Dawood Ibrahim and drug syndicate kingpin, arrested by NCB Mumbai?
The Danish Trader was a fugitive and was involved in the operations of a drug network linked to Dawood’s gang in the country.
File photo: Danish Merchant (Left)
In a major crackdown, the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) Mumbai has arrested fugitive accused Danish Trader alias Danish Chikna, a close aide of Goan underworld don Dawood Ibrahim. He was wanted in a medical drug case and had been on the run for a long time. The central agency also arrested Trader’s wife Henna Bharat Shah and two of her associates.
Who is the Danish Merchant?
Danish Merchant is a fugitive and is involved in the operations of the drug network linked to Dawood’s gang in the country, an official said. Merchant and his wife were tracked to a luxury resort in Goa and arrested after constant surveillance. NCB said both the accused are habitual offenders with multiple NDPS and criminal cases. In the statement made by NCB, it was stated that both of them were arrested after interrogation.
During the operation, 1,341 kg of Mephedrone was seized and an interstate network involved in synthetic drug trafficking was uncovered. The trader was also declared Tadipaar by Mumbai Police in 2024. In a statement, the NCB said that they first caught a suspect in Pune on the night of September 18 and seized 502 g of mephedrone, which led them to a house belonging to Merchant, where 839 g of mephedrone was seized and one of his associates was arrested during the raid.
Reports suggest that Danish Merchant is the son of Yusuf Merchant, also known as Yusuf Chikna, a Dongri-based gangster who was linked to the Dawood Ibrahim gang in the 1980s and 1990s. NCB and Rajasthan police had earlier registered three cases against Merchant under the NDPS Act. Mumbai Police also registered seven criminal cases against him. The police deported him by ordering him to stay outside the Mumbai municipal limits, the statement said.
