Ahmedabad, May 31 (IANS) A man was arrested near Sabarmati Railway Station in Ahmedabad after officers of the Anti Narcotics Task Force (ANTF) of CID Crime seized 305.78 grams of suspected mephedrone, commonly known as MD, with an estimated value of Rs 9.17 lakh, officials said on Sunday.

According to officials, the operation was carried out near the exit gate of Sabarmati Railway Station following specific intelligence inputs. The raid was conducted by a team from the ANTF-Ahmedabad Zone under the instructions of senior officials.

During the raid, officers allegedly found a quantity of mephedrone in the possession of the accused and detained him at the scene.

The arrested accused was identified as Prakash Bishnoi, 26, a resident of Kotra in Karwada village of Rajasthan’s Jalore district.

The complaint also names Gopal Singh Bhadu of Parawa village in Jalore district as a second accused. He has not been arrested.

The ANTF stated in the complaint that a case has been registered under Sections 8(c), 22(c) and 29 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985, and that further investigation is underway.

Officials said the seized property included a transparent plastic bag containing 305.78 grams of mephedrone valued at Rs 9,17,340, a OnePlus Nord-2 5G mobile phone valued at Rs 10,000, a railway ticket, a black cardboard box, a zip-lock plastic bag, a Lakshmi Readymade and Fancy Store carry bag and a blue-coloured bag.

The total estimated value of the seized items was placed at Rs 9,27,340.

The ANTF said further investigation into the case has been handed over to the Sabarmati Railway Police Station in Ahmedabad.

The latest seizure adds to a series of narcotics cases reported in Ahmedabad and other parts of Gujarat in recent months.

Earlier this month, the Ahmedabad Crime Branch arrested a man in Danilimda and seized 468.6 grams of mephedrone valued at more than Rs 14 lakh during a raid on a rented flat. Police said the accused had allegedly sourced the drug from Rajasthan and was distributing it in parts of the city.

In another case, the city Crime Branch arrested two persons from Madhya Pradesh near the Ahmedabad-Vadodara Expressway and recovered 525 grams of mephedrone worth Rs 52.5 lakh.

Investigators said the consignment was allegedly routed from Mandsaur in Madhya Pradesh through a network operating in Ahmedabad.

In March this year, the Gujarat ATS traced a mephedrone supply chain from Ahmedabad to an illegal manufacturing unit in Uttar Pradesh, where officials seized six kg of mephedrone, 50 kg of liquid mephedrone and large quantities of precursor chemicals.

Authorities have intensified anti-narcotics operations across Gujarat amid concerns over the circulation of synthetic drugs, particularly mephedrone, through interstate supply networks.

–IANS

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