He Taught English In Vietnam. Trip To India Exposed His Underworld Links

He taught English in Vietnam. But a trip to India exposed what he had kept under the rugs for years. From multiple criminal cases to underworld nexus, details have emerged about Akhtar Merchant, a fugitive who has finally landed in the police nets.

A member of underworld don Dawood Ibrahim's criminal network, Merchant was arrested at Delhi Airport last Monday in connection with a 2023 firing case in Mira Bhayandar, a suburb of Mumbai.

He had arrived in India from Saudi Arabia via Nepal. Upon his landing at Delhi Airport, a special team of the Mira-Bhayandar-Vasai-Virar police intercepted and arrested him.

Low Profile, English Teacher

Merchant kept a low profile in Vietnam, according to the police. Fluent in English, he worked as a language trainer in that country. But behind that mask remained hidden years of crimes.

The accused faced an Interpol Red Corner Notice, a request to global law enforcement to track and arrest a fugitive either facing or pending extradition or legal action.

He also had eight serious criminal cases, including extortion, kidnapping, armed robbery, criminal intimidation, dacoity, and counterfeiting across Mumbai and outskirts, besides Gujarat.

As a close associate of Dawood Ibrahim, according to sources, Merchant played a key role in strengthening the D-Company's extortion syndicates in and around Mumbai.

He was previously arrested by the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) in 2022 but had fled after securing bail.

The 2023 Firing Case

The 2023 case pertains to a shootout at the 'International Bakery' in the Kashimira area of Mira-Bhayandar.

Merchant had orchestrated the firing as part of an extortion attempt from a local trader of illegal gutkha and pan masala, according to police.

Additional Commissioner of Police Sanjay Vilas Shintre said that Merchant had demanded a cut from the profits from Ismail Patel alias Babu, known in the area as the local 'Gutkha King'.

When extortion calls to him went unanswered, Merchant and his men had allegedly barged into the bakery run by Patel and opened fire. He had even issued threats of more attacks if he didn't agree to a settlement, police said.

While Merchant's arrest marks a breakthrough in the firing case, questions have also arisen about if action would be taken against the gutkha seller for trading banned substances.

The police are now interrogating Merchant to uncover the full network behind the gutkha trade, the extortion nexus, and the conspiracy behind the firing.