The gang, about which the police had little information, was named in at least four murders in the city in the last two years. A special squad attached to Unit X of the crime branch had been piecing together information on the gangsters for the last three months. The gangsters were picked up from hideouts at Malvani and Thane district, according to senior police inspector Ambadas Pote.

The arrested have been identified as the self-styled leader Anwar alias Annu Gani Sayyed (25), Prakash Koli (19), Kishor Gaikwad (20), Sachin Gaikwad (21), Sudhir Chavan (21), Rajendra Raibole (23), Bharat Angre (22) and Mangesh Patil (21).

The gang has been named in the murder of a watchman at Evershine Nagar, Malad (west) on September 27, 1998, the firing during an attempt to abduct a Mulund businessman on September 2, 1998, the firing at Bhiwandi on October 3, 1998and the firing at Topaz Bar at Grant Road on January 23 this year.

The police have also seized a revolver, two country-made revolvers, two choppers and assorted ammunition. Joint CP (Crime) D Shivanandan has expressed surprise that in the age of sophisticated weapons the gangsters were using country-made revolvers and were lucky to get away with their crimes so far. In another operation, the squad arrested a member of Anees/Qayum Ibrahim (brothers of Dawood) faction of the Dawood Ibrahim gang from a hideout at Malwani on Thursday.

Gangster Mohammed Anwar M Hussain alias Pappu (32) confessed to his involvement in the murder of gangster Gulam M Sheikh alias Kashmiri on December 17, 1997 and the murder of Salim Miya Gore and Ashraf Sheikh on October 25 last year.

The police have also recovered two fake press reporters' identity cards from two gangsters and impounded a Maruti car with `press' stickers affixed on its windscreen.

The squad members include police inspectors Sunil Deshmukh, A Tayade; APIsRaju Pillai, Rajan Ghule; PSIs Vilas Gangawane, V Kandalgaonkar, G Wankoti, Allad Gaikwad and Narayan Patil.