Mumbai (PTI): The Reserve Bank on Saturday extended the special drive to withdraw Rs 2,000 bank notes from the system by another week, till October 7.

The public has returned Rs 3.42 lakh crore of the Rs 2,000 notes since May 19, the RBI said in a statement posted on the last day of the drive to withdraw the notes.

These notes were either deposited or exchanged at bank branches till September 29, and represent 96 per cent of the outstanding currency in circulation as on May 19 this year, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said.

The Rs 2,000 notes shall continue to be legal tender even after October 7, but can be exchanged only at RBI offices, the central bank said, adding that they cannot be deposited or exchanged at bank branches.

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Mumbai (PTI): Police have arrested a man and seized over 500 grams of heroin worth Rs 2.54 crore in the illicit market from him in Mumbai, officials said on Friday.

The police's Anti-Narcotics Cell (ANC) made the drug seizure in Santacruz in the western suburbs. The operation was conducted by the Kandivali unit of the ANC on Thursday as part of a special crackdown against drug trafficking in the area, they said.

Acting on specific inputs, an ANC team conducted a raid in Santacruz (East) and intercepted a man. During a search, the team recovered 508 grams of high-grade heroin from his possession, an official said.

The seized contraband, a highly addictive, opioid drug derived from morphine, is estimated to be worth Rs 2.54 crore in the international market, he informed.

Following the seizure, a case was registered against the man under relevant sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985, and he was formally placed under arrest in the early hours of Friday.

The police are currently investigating the source of the drug and trying to identify the intended recipients of the consignment, he said.