In 2018, the Naya Nagar police had registered a case of abduction and extortion against Merchant for kidnapping and demanding a Rs 50 lakh ransom from a businessman. He had then fled to Nepal and later moved base to Bangladesh. Merchant who was into the business of extortion and abduction had returned to Mumbai recently after he failed to obtain a passport in Bangladesh. Acting on a tip-off that Merchant would be visiting his wife in Nalasopara, cops on Tuesday laid a trap.
Police said that Merchant was in plans to flee to Nairobi where he is believed to have a second wife.
Merchant has been handed over to the Naya Nagar police.