MUMBAI, Oct. 30 -- The Mumbai unit of the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) has dismantled a major Mumbai-based drug syndicate in a multi-state operation conducted over a month, and on Saturday arrested the kingpin and three others - his wife and two associates. In the intelligence-led operation, the NCB traced the alleged kingpin, Danish Merchant alias 'Danish Chikna', who was 'externed' from Mumbai's municipal limits in 2024 after featuring as an accused in seven criminal cases registered by the city police, and his wife Henna, to a luxury resort in Goa on Saturday when they were arrested. Merchant and his wife, alleged to be his partner in the drug-running trade, were on the run for over a month and had changed their mobile numbers, vehicles and locations across multiple states before the NCB team netted them in Goa, according to agency officials. The chase to nab the alleged syndicate kingpin began after one of the agency's teams, following a specific lead, seized MD in an operation conducted on September 18-19, the officials said. The NCB team, following the intelligence, had intercepted a man identified as N Gaikwad in Pune and allegedly recovered 502 grams of MD from his possession. Under sustained questioning, Gaikwad revealed the address of a storage location in Mumbai. In a swift follow-up action, the NCB team searched the indicated Mumbai premises and recovered an additional 839 grams of MD from an alleged associate of Gaikwad, Z Shaikh, who was allegedly operating under the directions of Merchant, the officials said. "The Mumbai premises from where the MD was seized were found to be associated with Henna Shah," a NCB official said. NCB's further investigation allegedly established that Merchant and his wife were "orchestrating the narcotic supply chain from behind the scenes," the official said. After NCB's seizures, however, Merchant and his wife allegedly attempted to go off the radar to evade any action against them, the official said. A subsequent intensive tracking operation revealed that the accused duo were constantly changing their hideouts in multiple states, cellphone numbers and vehicles, to evade detection. They were finally tracked at the resort in Goa, the official said. A resident of Dongri, Merchant is allegedly a repeat offender and was arrested by NCB's Mumbai in 2021 in a case involving the seizure of illegally diverted Codeine-Based Cough Syrup and Cannabis. In 2021, the Rajasthan police booked him in a narcotics case, while the Mumbai police booked him in 2024 for his involvement in a case related to the illegal manufacture of synthetic drugs. Merchant's criminal record also includes seven other criminal cases registered by the Mumbai police against him, following which he was externed ('Tadipaar') from the Mumbai municipal limits in 2024. His wife, Henna, also allegedly has a history of involvement in drug-related activities and was actively assisting Merchant in narcotic distribution-and-concealment operations, NCB officials said. "This operation underscores NCB's sustained efforts in dismantling organised drug syndicates and targeting habitual offenders, who continue to fuel the narcotics ecosystem," the official said. The NCB encourages citizens to report any drug-related information through 'MANAS - the National Narcotics Helpline (Toll Free Number: 1933). The identity of informants is kept confidential....