The Crime Branch units of Surat and Ahmedabad police have arrested three men and seized heroin and mephedrone worth an estimated Rs 25.5 crore in a joint operation near the CTM toll plaza on the Ahmedabad Express Highway, within the jurisdiction of Ramol police station, police said on Thursday, October 22.
Source: IANS via Hi India
The seizure comprised 4,531.220 grams — about 4.5 kg — of heroin, valued at Rs 5 crore per kg, and 2,497.490 grams — about 2.5 kg — of mephedrone, also known as MD, valued at Rs 1.2 crore per kg, according to police. Together the two consignments carry an estimated market value of Rs 25.5 crore.
The three arrested men have been identified as Tifel Nokhej, 44, a resident of New Delhi; Mohammed Imran Alvi, 38, from Meerut in Uttar Pradesh; and Kafeel Ahmed, 59, also a resident of New Delhi. Police described the operation as targeting an alleged interstate drug network with links to Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat.
According to police, Nokhej was allegedly involved in a case involving 100 grams of heroin in Amritsar in 2014 and was accused of piloting a smuggling operation involving 300 kg of heroin in 2019. Police said Alvi has been linked to cases including human trafficking and cheating, while Ahmed was previously caught with 18.5 kg of charas in Jaipur and 100 grams of mephedrone in Ahmedabad, and was allegedly caught with 3 kg of alprazolam in Rajasthan while on parole. These are police allegations and prior-case claims, not convictions in the present case.
Police said Ahmedabad City Police Commissioner Anupam Singh Gahlot had been receiving intelligence about the suspected syndicate for more than two years, and that the investigation began during his tenure as Surat Police Commissioner. Further investigation is under way.