In a first-of-its-kind action in Maharashtra, the Mumbai Police have invoked the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) against a drug trafficking syndicate under the provisions of the Act recently amended to cover narcotics-related organised crime, an official said on Wednesday.

The Maharashtra Legislative Assembly had passed the amendment to MCOCA, granting law enforcement the power to tackle organised drug cartels under this stringent law and the provisions now allow law enforcement to treat drug mafias on par with other organised crime groups involved in extortion, contract killings, land grabbing and similar activities.

According to officials, alleged notorious drug trafficker Jamir Boka and his associates were found running a large-scale drug smuggling operation. Since 2009, multiple cases have been registered against them under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, but police found that despite repeated arrests, the group had rebuilt its networks and continued to circulate narcotics through an organised syndicate.