Episode 5 of "Dabba Cartel" kicks off by transporting us back to the vintage year of 1992, revisiting the past of Moushumi and Sheila. A police officer named Sahab arrives unexpectedly at Moushumi's doorstep. When she refuses to open the door, he forcibly enters the premises. Sahab is in relentless pursuit of Kashi, who had taken the lives of Shakeel bhai's men, prompting Shakeel to place a bounty on her head. With a grave warning that Shakeel had already dispatched Mirza and would spare no one to get to Kashi, Sahab's intentions are clear. Yet, fate has other plans as Sahab meets his untimely demise. Today, Kashi has transformed into Sheila, fueled by a vengeful desire to eliminate Chavan for his threats against Raji. Reflecting on the events that transpired three decades ago, Sheila reveals that retirement was never in her plans; it was imposed upon her. While Moushumi expresses envy for Sheila's new life, wishing she too had fled Mumbai, Sheila harbors a deep disdain for her current circumstances. When the chance to confront Chavan came knocking, Sheila felt a spark of life reignite within her. Eagerly seizing the opportunity, she is determined not to let it slip away this time.
Elsewhere, Preeti is consumed by guilt over her mistake, prompting Shahida to counsel her on apologizing to Pathak. As punishment for Preeti's error, Pathak is transferred, and his superiors refuse to reimburse the expenses incurred during his Modella investigation. The women confront Varuna, accusing her of squandering their money without their consent. In response, Varuna threatens to involve the police, confident that her status as a respected businesswoman will sway their belief in her favor.
At VivaLife, Shankar confronts Vinay about the Modella left at their house, to which Vinay chalks up his oversight to his father's illness. Later, in a conversation with Vinay, Varuna discovers that after her maternity leave, VivaLife had sent a job recommendation for her to Shankar, who summarily rejected it without consulting her. Varuna confronts Shankar, accusing him of derailing her career prospects. Shankar, however, shifts the blame onto her, citing post-maternity mental health issues.
Varuna has noticed Hari's peculiar behavior and, aware of Xipro Labs' and VivaLife's connections to Modella, suspects that Hari has introduced a batch of Modella into their society. She proposes a daring plan to the women: they will steal the Modella from Hari and utilize the brilliant chemical engineer, Bhowmick, to create a new drug. If you can't beat them, join them, she reasons. With Sheila unable to sell MDMA in the Mumbai market, she reaches out to Moushumi, seeking her collaboration to sell a novel substance. Moushumi thinks Sheila has lost her mind, but Sheila merely asks for her assistance in distributing the new drug once it's formulated.
The ladies swiftly commenced their task, uncovering the Modella amidst the speakers Hari had brought back, while Varuna deftly attempted to persuade Bhowmick to align with their cause. Utilizing the lively Ganpati festivities in the VivaLife community as a clever diversion, they expertly abstracted the Modella from directly beneath Hari's nose. Hari's suspicions were almost aroused, but Sheila adroitly feigned fainting, cleverly drawing Hari back into the house momentarily. At long last, they possessed the Modella; the sole missing piece was Bhowmick's cooperation.
Earlier, Varuna had paid Bhowmick a visit, yet he steadfastly declined to create a new drug for them. Bhowmick held his ground firmly, even when Varuna presented him with an incriminating email exchange between Shankar and Shailaja, clearly illustrating that VivaLife was privy to the contents of stravinol and condoned its production. However, to safeguard the company, they had scapegoated Bhowmick, filing a malpractice lawsuit against him.
As the episode drew to a close, Bhowmick contacted Varuna and agreed to manufacture the drugs for her. Nevertheless, he stipulated that she must assist him in having the malpractice case dismissed. To accomplish this, Varuna would need to grant him access to the emails exchanged between Shankar and the company executives.
