Police raid rave party, 250 arrested : Pune

PUNE: In a pre-dawn raid on a rave party allegedly organised by suspected international drug peddlers at village Donaje, 40 km from here, 250 youths, including 27 girls and seven foreigners, were arrested. "In Sunday's raid, which comes close on the heels of three similar operations, seven foreigners from Germany, Iran and Palestine have also been arrested,'' Superintendent of Police Vishwas Nagare Patil said.

Among the foreigners, two each were from Germany and Iran and three were Palestinians. "Shania, a drug peddler from Ireland, who was to attend the rave party is absconding," Mr. Patil said.

"We are looking for a woman from Ireland who is the prime suspect behind the main supply of narcotics in Sunday's party," he said.

All those arrested have been booked under the NDPS Act and Foreigners Act, while the police are also thinking of invoking provisions of the IT Act against them because the invitations for the party were sent via the Internet, he said. — PTI

Arunkumar Bhatt reports from Mumbai:

Mr. Patil told The Hindu that it was a sting operation. The arrested were undergoing tests to establish the nature of drugs they had consumed. The youths had come from Ahmedabad, Kolkata, Bangalore and Chennai.

Website

The participants had contacted the organisers through a website, www.isra.trans.com

and got themselves invited by SMS, Mr. Patil said.

A visit to the website showed that it appeared to be a pornographic, soft contacts and drugs offering portal.

"The policemen danced for 15 minutes and when the party peaked, they started rounding up the men and women," Mr. Patil said.

About 2.5 kg of ganja, 100 gm of charas and hashish and alcohol were seized.

The `guests" had paid hefty sums for the invitations.