AHMEDABAD: City crime branch on Thursday detained four persons from Siddhpur with 245g of methamphetamine worth Rs 24.5 lakh and 488g of opium worth Rs 48 thousand. SSP crime branch Deepan Bhadran said here on Friday that this is for the first time that drug smuggling from Rajasthan route has been cracked by the cops.
“As we have blocked the supply of drugs in Gujarat from the Mumbai route by conducting several raids, the drug mafia in Mumbai have found a new route through Sanchore in Rajasthan,” said Bhadran.
After about 10 cases of drug trafficking through Rajasthan route, city crime branch and Gujarat ATS in a joint operation cracked this line too. “We were tracking the Sanchore line for quite some time. On Thursday, we got a tip-off about this consignment,” said the SSP. A team led by inspector D B Barad of crime branch and inspector N R Brahmbhatt of ATS was dispatched immediately to the spot near a hotel near Siddhpur Crossroads. “The team members were in plain clothes and they successfully detained the four accused — Suresh Thakkar, a handicapped person from Sanchore in Rajasthan; Jagdishchandra Mali, also from Sanchore; Khemaram Brahman of Vinchivada in Sanchore; and Imran Shaikh of Siddhpur,” Bhadran said.
The cops recovered two cars, Rs 1.16 lakh cash and five mobile phones from the accused.
Assistant commissioner of police, crime branch, B V Gohil, said, “The accused have confessed that there are others in Rajasthan who supply drugs in Gujarat. After their Covid-19 test, they will be handed over to Gujarat ATS for registration of offence as the drug network is spread in three states, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Maharashtra.”
The cops said that the accused have different versions about the origin of the drug. “Some of them say that there are factories in Rajasthan where they make MD, while some say that the drug is brought from Mumbai to Rajasthan and then smuggled into Gujarat,” said an official.
Sources said that during primary interrogation, Imran said that the drug was for his and his friend’s consumption and not for sale.
“As we have blocked the supply of drugs in Gujarat from the Mumbai route by conducting several raids, the drug mafia in Mumbai have found a new route through Sanchore in Rajasthan,” said Bhadran.
After about 10 cases of drug trafficking through Rajasthan route, city crime branch and Gujarat ATS in a joint operation cracked this line too. “We were tracking the Sanchore line for quite some time. On Thursday, we got a tip-off about this consignment,” said the SSP. A team led by inspector D B Barad of crime branch and inspector N R Brahmbhatt of ATS was dispatched immediately to the spot near a hotel near Siddhpur Crossroads. “The team members were in plain clothes and they successfully detained the four accused — Suresh Thakkar, a handicapped person from Sanchore in Rajasthan; Jagdishchandra Mali, also from Sanchore; Khemaram Brahman of Vinchivada in Sanchore; and Imran Shaikh of Siddhpur,” Bhadran said.
The cops recovered two cars, Rs 1.16 lakh cash and five mobile phones from the accused.
Assistant commissioner of police, crime branch, B V Gohil, said, “The accused have confessed that there are others in Rajasthan who supply drugs in Gujarat. After their Covid-19 test, they will be handed over to Gujarat ATS for registration of offence as the drug network is spread in three states, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Maharashtra.”
The cops said that the accused have different versions about the origin of the drug. “Some of them say that there are factories in Rajasthan where they make MD, while some say that the drug is brought from Mumbai to Rajasthan and then smuggled into Gujarat,” said an official.
Sources said that during primary interrogation, Imran said that the drug was for his and his friend’s consumption and not for sale.
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