Police have arrested Vishal Deoraj Singh and Jafar Usmani for taking money from Salim Fruit.(File)
Two persons have been held for allegedly taking several lakh rupees from an aide of gangster Dawood Ibrahim with the promise of protecting him from arrest at the hands of the National Investigation Agency(NIA), a Mumbai police official said on Monday.
Mohammed Salim Mohammed Iqbal Qureshi alias Salim Fruit, who was on the radar of the probe agencies in connection with a case connected to money laundering, narco terrorism, and smuggling, was arrested on August 4.
An official of Mumbai police's Anti Extortion Cell on Monday said they have arrested Vishal Deoraj Singh alias Vishal Kale and Jafar Usmani for taking several lakh rupees from Salim Fruit in order to ensure he was not held by the NIA, an official said.
While the exact amount the duo took has not been revealed, sources said it may be in the range of Rs 50 lakh.
"When Salim Fruit was on the radar of probe agencies, the two accused approached him and took money," he said.
The NIA had, on February 3, registered a case related to "terrorist and criminal activities" like smuggling, narco-terrorism, money laundering, circulation of fake currency, raising terror funds and working in active collaboration with international terrorist organizations including Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jaish-e-Mohammad and Al Qaeda" by gangster Dawood Ibrahim and his associates.
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