Drugs Worth Rs 25 Crore Seized Near Ahmedabad Toll Plaza, Three Arrested

Police have seized drugs worth nearly Rs 25 crore near a toll plaza on the Ahmedabad-Vadodara Expressway and arrested three men in connection with the case, officials said on Thursday.

The seizure was made on Wednesday during a joint operation conducted by the Surat and Ahmedabad crime branches within the jurisdiction of Ramol police station. The operation was aimed at dismantling an inter-state drug trafficking network, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime) Ajit Rajian said.

According to a police release, the team recovered 4.53 kg of heroin and 2.49 kg of mephedrone near the CTM toll plaza on the expressway. The seized narcotics have an estimated combined value of around Rs 25 crore.

The arrested men have been identified as Tifel Nokhej (44) and Kafeel Ahmed (59), both residents of New Delhi, and Mohammed Imran Alvi (38), a native of Meerut in Uttar Pradesh, the release said.

Police said Nokhej was allegedly involved in the transportation of 100 grams of heroin in Amritsar in 2014 and 300 kg of heroin in 2019.

Ahmed also has a history of alleged involvement in drug-related cases. He was previously arrested in Jaipur in connection with the seizure of 18.5 kg of charas, in Ahmedabad for possession of 100 grams of mephedrone, and in Rajasthan for possession of 3 kg of alprazolam while on parole, officials said.

Alvi, meanwhile, has been linked to several criminal cases, including alleged molestation, human trafficking and cheating, according to the police release.

The latest seizure is part of efforts by the crime branches to identify and dismantle networks involved in the movement of narcotics across state boundaries.

Further investigation is underway to establish the source of the seized drugs, their intended destination and the possible involvement of other persons in the suspected trafficking network, officials said.