Bhubaneswar: The Special Task Force (STF) of state Crime Branch has arrested a dreaded mining mafia at Netaji Subash Chandra Bose International Airport in Kolkata while he along with his wife was leaving for Thailand.
The accused mafia identified as Mohammed Tabrez, a resident of Tirtol area of Kendrapara, has been staying in an apartment at Hanspal here. He was wanted by the STF team in several cases of illegal quarrying of stone, threatening opponents with arms in Khurda. The lands on which the illegal operations of stone quarrying were carried out by Tabrez originally belong to Lord Jagannath in Puri.
According to sources, Tabrez was held at the airport and later produced before the Barrackpore SDJM court. Earlier, STF had issued lookout notices against Tabrez to the airports and railway stations too.
He has reportedly been brought to Bhubaneswar on remand Tuesday.
Tabrez had escaped to Kolkata fearing arrest by the STF when it started the drive against the illegal stone quarrying in Khurda. Tabrez allegedly had earned crores from the illegal stone quarrying that he invested in real estate business.