India, Feb. 18 -- A prison guard has been arrested for allegedly lending his cell phone to Faiyaz Shaikh, a close associate of drug kingpin Salim Dola, so that he could run his narcotics operation from the Solapur district jail. Shaikh is lodged in prison in connection with the massive mephedrone (MD) haul in Satara, worth Rs.115 crore, in December last year.

Police said the guard allowed Shaikh to use his phone to make calls to Dubai and to drug peddlers. The guard, Balu Anna Chavan, was arrested by the Ghatkopar unit of the Mumbai crime branch and, after being produced before a local court, was remanded to police custody until February 21.

Shaikh has been lodged in the Solapur district jail since 2024, but police realised he was still...