Mangrove cell cracks down on Malwani mafia

Mumbai: The mangrove cell conducted a raid in Malwani in the wee hours of Thursday where fresh dumping of debris was prevented in the mangrove area of Malad. Fifteen accused in total have been arrested and three dumpers seized.

The mangrove body received a tip off on Wednesday by one of the accused from the construction mafia who was arrested earlier. “We got the information that the construction debris was being dumped mostly in the early morning hours. We decided to go undercover to avoid any suspicion. The officers wore plain clothes and hid in previously seized trucks so as to keep the mafia in the dark about the crackdown,” said Makarand Ghodke, assistant conservator of forest, mangrove cell.

The forest team headed by Mr Ghodke comprised three range forest officers Prashant Deshmukh, Prakash Choudhari and Mayur Bhote.

The undercover officials stayed clandestine throughout the night, however in the  early morning hours, the mangrove cell managed  to seize the dumpers that were going to unload construction debris in Malvani mangroves near Ambhujwadi slums.

The mangrove cell stated that apart from the 15 arrests, other arrests are expected to occur this month.