Maharashtra asks CBI Interpol wing to help hand over Iqbal Mirchi

MUMBAI: Maharashtra Government has asked CBI Interpol wing to obtain custody of gangster Iqbal Mirchi, held in London, and hand him over to it.

"We have asked the CBI Interpol wing to obtain custody of Iqbal Mirchi and hand him over to us," Home Minister R R Patil told PTI.

Iqbal Memon alias 'Iqbal Mirchi', considered to be the right-hand man of fugitive underworld don Dawood Ibrahim, was arrested in the UK yesterday.

"There are 12 serious criminal cases against Iqbal Mirchi registered in Mumbai and rest of Maharashtra," Patil said.

61-year-old Memon, against whom an Interpol Red Corner Notice was pending since 1994, is wanted by Mumbai police in connection with cases related to drug peddling and 1993 Mumbai serial blasts.

CBI sources said the UK police would be approached through the Interpol and diplomatic channels to seek his extradition or deportation to India.

Iqbal Mirchi began his career in the underworld as a smuggler and became a big player in drug peddling around mid-1980s.

After his escape from Mumbai, he is alleged to have been dividing his time between Dubai and London.

He was earlier detained in London but the UK authorities had turned down India's request for extradition at that point of time.

However, this time, the sources said, they were hopeful of making a headway with more evidence against him that will be provided by the Mumbai police.