Mumbai’s Lady Drug Mafia: The Rise of Women ‘Queenpins’ in the Narcotics Underworld

Mumbai, a city known for dreams, cinema, and ambition, is facing a disturbing transformation within its criminal ecosystem. In recent years, law enforcement agencies have uncovered a powerful and unsettling trend — the emergence of women as key decision-makers in the city’s narcotics trade.

Once considered unlikely suspects, women are now being identified as masterminds, financiers, and coordinators of large drug syndicates operating across Mumbai and beyond.

A Strategic Shift in the Drug Trade

Police investigations indicate that drug networks are increasingly placing women at the forefront of operations, while male leaders operate from the shadows. The reason is simple — women attract less suspicion, both socially and operationally.

These women are not merely carriers. Many manage:

• Financial transactions
• Courier networks
• Storage locations
• Supplier coordination
• Communication with international traffickers

In several cases, crores of rupees generated from drug sales were routed through bank accounts held in women’s names, later laundered via luxury cars, flats, shell companies, and digital wallets.

Who Are These Women?

Law enforcement officials say the profiles vary widely. Housewives, relatives of arrested criminals, bar dancers, social media influencers, and even young college-age women have been drawn into the trade.

Airports, railway stations, hotels, and slum pockets have emerged as key delivery points, with women posing as domestic workers, service staff, or regular travellers to move narcotics discreetly.

Taking Over When Men Go to Jail

A recurring pattern has alarmed investigators. When male kingpins are arrested or externed, their wives, sisters, mothers, or girlfriends often take over the entire operation.

Using encrypted messaging apps, burner phones, fake identities, and coded language, these women have continued drug distribution without interruption. Vehicles, SIM cards, warehouses, and even supply routes are frequently registered in women’s names to avoid detection.

Major Crackdowns Expose the Networks

Recent police operations have revealed the scale of female involvement:

• Parveen Bano Gulam Sheikh (Kurla) was arrested with 641 grams of mephedrone and ₹12 lakh in cash. Her interrogation led police to a massive MD manufacturing unit in Sangli, where 122.5 kg of drugs worth ₹245 crore were seized.
• Pydhonie Police busted a heroin network worth ₹36.72 crore, arresting Rubina Mohammed Syed Khan, Shabnam Sheikh, and Muskan Samrul Sheikh. The drugs were trafficked from Pakistan through Rajasthan, with the women acting as key distributors.

Other Notable ‘Queenpins’

• Shabina Khan (Kurla): Took control of a drug network after her husband’s externment, managing over 20 peddlers.
• Kayanat Shaikh (Dahisar): First drug network in Maharashtra booked under MCOCA; continued operations after her husband’s arrest.
• Najma Sheikh: Ran a drug racket while her husband was jailed for murder.
• Ikra Qureshi (Dongri): Used Instagram to sell drugs; arrested after evading NCB for three months.
• Baby Patankar (Worli): Operated a drug ring from a slum pocket.
• Rukhsana Pathan (Bhayander): Allegedly handled hawala and drug money under the cover of a travel agency.

Police also traced warehouses, vehicles, and financial assets registered in the names of several women, highlighting how deeply embedded they were in operations.

Women as Leaders, Not Just Participants

Investigators stress that women in these cases were not acting under coercion alone. Many independently handled negotiations, money flow, and logistics. This marks a clear shift from earlier perceptions of women as minor accomplices.

For Mumbai Police, this trend presents a complex challenge. Proving leadership roles requires detailed financial tracking, digital surveillance, and long-term intelligence gathering.

A Growing Threat to Society

Beyond crime statistics, this evolving drug trade poses a serious threat to Mumbai’s youth and social fabric. Easy access to narcotics, sophisticated distribution networks, and social media-driven sales have widened the danger.

The recent exposure of these female-led drug networks sends a clear message: crime has no gender, and neither does accountability. For authorities and citizens alike, it is a reminder that vigilance must evolve with changing criminal strategies.