Team Goemkarponn
Panaji/Mumbai: In a major breakthrough against the underworld’s drug operations, the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) has arrested Danish Merchant alias Danish Chikna, a key associate of underworld don Dawood Ibrahim, from Goa.
The arrest was carried out in a late-night operation by NCB Mumbai, following specific intelligence inputs that led officers to Chikna’s hideout. According to officials, the accused has long been under the scanner for running a drug manufacturing unit in Dongri, Mumbai, as part of Dawood’s narcotics network.
An NCB official stated, “Danish Merchant, also known as Danish Chikna, has been a long-time associate of the Dawood syndicate. Despite earlier arrests, he continued to operate through alternate routes and handlers.”
Authorities believe that Danish played a crucial role in managing and distributing narcotics across Mumbai, Gujarat, and other parts of western India. He allegedly oversaw the production and interstate distribution of drugs through proxy networks and trusted operatives.
This isn’t the first time Danish has been caught by enforcement agencies. In 2019, the NCB busted a drug factory in Dongri that was camouflaged as a vegetable shop and believed to be part of Dawood’s sprawling drug empire. Drugs worth crores of rupees were seized, and Danish was arrested from Rajasthan but later released.
In 2021, Danish Chikna was once again arrested — this time from Kota, Rajasthan — in a joint operation between the Kota Police and NCB, after a 1,200-kilometre chase. Authorities seized 200 grams of narcotics from his vehicle and booked him under multiple sections of the NDPS Act.
Despite these arrests, investigators say Danish continued to rebuild his networks, using new fronts and couriers to sustain operations for Dawood’s drug trade.
The latest arrest from Goa marks a significant strike against the Dawood-linked narcotics network, which has been under increased national scrutiny. Danish is expected to be produced before a Mumbai court after being brought from Goa for further investigation.
