Dawood gang member arrested in Mumbai with pistol, live bullets

Mumbai: Police have arrested a 45-year-old member of the Dawood Ibrahim gang, who was facing a number of criminal cases, from Mumbai and seized a firearm and live bullets from him, an official said on Wednesday.

The accused, identified as Sachin Gajanan Shete, was apprehended by a team of Unit-9 of the Mumbai crime branch on Tuesday from suburban Oshiwara, he said.

Based on specific information, the team laid a trap near a bus stop and nabbed him. The police recovered a country-made pistol and four live rounds from his possession, the official said, adding he was booked under the Arms Act.

Interrogation revealed Shete had come to Mumbai to commit criminal activities in the next few days, he said.

During investigation it came to light that he had an offence of jumping parole registered at the Mira Road Police Station in adjoining Thane district in 2022, the official said.

The gangster was also involved in cases like murder, attempt to murder and extortion, he said.

Shete was arrested in 2000 for the murder of a trade union leader and sentenced to a life imprisonment by a court. While in prison, he came in contact with some Dawood gang members and joined their ranks, and killed an inmate, John D'souza, as part of inter-gang rivalry in Mumbai's Arthur Road jail in 2006, said the official.

He is also accused of extorting a businessman in 2008 and sanctioning a shootout at his showroom, the official added.