Afroz Wadariya was a close aide of Chota Shakeel, says Mumbai Police (Representational Image)

In a major boost to the investigation against underworld dons Chota Shakeel and Dawood Ibrahim, the Mumbai Police arrested Afroz Wadariya also known as Ahmed Raza, officials said.

Senior Mumbai Police officials told IANS that Afroz Wadariya, who was a close aide of Chota Shakeel and used to handle the hawala transactions for them was arrested on Tuesday on the basis of a Look Out Circular (LOC) notice issued against him.

The official said a LOC against Afroz Wadariya was issued on June 26.

The official said he arrived from the United Arab Emirates' (UAE) Dubai on Tuesday and was detained at the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport in Mumbai. The immigration department then informed the Mumbai Police about him and later handed him over to them.

The official revealed that Afroz Wadariya was travelling on his own passport which was put under the lens by the Mumbai Police's Anti Extortion Cell through the LOC.

The official said Afroz Wadariya was arrested for extortion and criminal conspiracy.

The official said that police will present him before the court and seek his police custody for questioning in connection with several extortion cases.

According to the police official, Afroz Wadariya was the person who carried out the hawala transactions on the advice of underworld dons Dawood Ibrahim and Chota Shakeel in cities like Maharashtra's Mumbai and Gujarat's Surat.

The official said Afroz Wadariya was directly connected to Dawood Ibrahim's close aide Fahim Machmach.