Gujarat: 2 kg mephedrone, 427 kg suspected drug seized in ops in Bharuch, Surat; 4 held

PTI, Oct 21, 2024, 6:02 PM IST

More than 2 kilograms of mephedrone worth Rs 2.14 crore and another 427 kilograms of a suspected drug were seized from a factory and four persons were arrested in parallel operations in Gujarat’s Bharuch and Surat districts, officials said on Monday.

More than 2 kilograms of MD was seized from a four-wheeler near Velanja village in Surat on Sunday evening, resulting in the arrest of three persons, Surat police commissioner Anupam Singh Gehlot said.

Another team carried out an operation at Avasar Enterprise, a unit located in Ankleshwar GIDC, on Sunday night and seized a 427 kilogram consignment of a suspected drug, leading to the arrest of one person. The haul has been sent to a Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) for confirmation, a Surat Crime Branch release said.

Four persons were arrested and contraband worth more than Rs 2 crore was seized in the twin operations of Surat and Bharuch police and two FIRs have been registered under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, it added.

“On Sunday, Surat crime branch received intel that Vishal Patel was manufacturing MD drug at a factory named Avsar Enterprise located in Ankleshwar industrial area. Three persons connected to him were going to pass by a hotel in Velanja in a vehicle at around 6 pm with drug manufactured at the factory,” the release said.

Acting in coordination with Bharuch district SOG and Surat rural SOG police, Surat crime branch formed two different for Ankleshwar and Surat, it said.

“Montu Patel, Virat Patel and Vipul Patel were nabbed with 2.031 kg MD drug from Velanja on Sunday evening. In a parallel operation, Bharuch SOG and Surat crime branch nabbed Vishal Patel with 141 gram MD and 427 kg suspected drug from a factory at Ankleshwar,” it said.

Two FIRs were registered, comprising one at Kamrej police station in Surat and another at Ankleshwar GIDC police station in Bharuch under the NDPS Act, the release said.

Montu and Virat Patel possess the knowhow to manufacture drugs, and they were engaged by Vishal Patel to manufacture MD in his factory for supply to Mumbai, police said.

They have confessed to supplying 2 kilograms of drugs to Mumbai two times in the past, as per police.