Gujarat: Crime Branch busts interstate drug racket; couple held

Ahmedabad, Dec 1 Ahmedabad City Crime Branch in Gujarat has arrested a husband-and-wife duo from Vadaj and seized a large cache of MD (Mephedrone) worth several lakhs of rupees.

The operation, carried out based on specific intelligence inputs, has exposed an interstate drug pipeline stretching from Rajasthan to Uttar Pradesh.

Officials said the Crime Branch had received credible information that Kamlesh Bishnoi, a native of Rajasthan, and his wife Rajeshwari, who lived in Khat Colony near Akhbarnagar Circle in Vadaj, were storing and distributing narcotics from their residence.

Acting swiftly, a team of Crime Branch officers raided the premises in the presence of independent witnesses, following all procedures mandated under the NDPS Act.

During the search, officers recovered suspicious substances from the couple’s pockets and from a plastic container inside the house.

On-the-spot testing by experts from the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) confirmed the material to be Mephedrone. In total, 357.750 grams of MD, valued at approximately Rs 35.77 lakh, were seized.

The team also confiscated Rs 22,800 in cash, two mobile phones and an electric weighing scale, taking the overall seizure to Rs 36.40 lakh. Interrogation of the arrested duo revealed the larger contours of the racket: the drugs were allegedly supplied by Subhash Godara, a relative of the accused and a resident of Sanchore in Rajasthan.

Investigators have found that Godara, who is currently absconding, sourced the narcotics from Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, indicating a wider interstate network.

The arrested couple admitted to selling the drugs to local users across Ahmedabad.

With this crackdown, the Crime Branch believes it has struck a significant blow to a key supply chain operating in the city. A case has been registered under relevant provisions of the NDPS Act, and teams have launched a search for the main supplier and other accomplices linked to the racket.

Over the past three years, Gujarat has emerged as a major hotspot for narcotics trafficking, with authorities seizing nearly 87,600 kg of drugs worth around Rs 16,000 crore statewide.

In 2024 alone, law-enforcement agencies confiscated Rs 7,303 crore worth of narcotics and booked over 800 individuals under the NDPS Act, reflecting a sharp rise in trafficking attempts.

Coastal routes remain particularly vulnerable, with drugs valued at Rs 485 crore seized from Gujarat’s shoreline in just two years, underscoring the state’s growing challenge in curbing both inland and maritime smuggling networks.

--IANS

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