Ahmedabad, October 10 (Daily Kiran) : Ahmedabad police recently confiscated 696.94 kilograms of opium husk from a truck traveling from Nagpur, Maharashtra, to Sanand, Gujarat. The drugs were cleverly concealed beneath steel coils. Authorities have identified two additional suspects in connection with this interstate smuggling operation.
On Saturday, police reported that the narcotics, packed in 36 bags, are valued at approximately ₹1.045 crore. The total worth of the seized items, including the truck, steel coils, mobile phones, and cash, is estimated at ₹1.47 crore.
This operation was conducted by the Special Operations Group (SOG) of the Ahmedabad Rural Police in collaboration with the Anti-Narcotics Wing (ANW). The SOG sub-inspector, IK Sheikh, received a tip-off that a significant quantity of opium husk was being transported in a truck-trailer, hidden under rolls of steel.
The steel coils were reportedly en route to Tata Motors in Sanand from Nagpur. Based on the intelligence gathered, police tracked the vehicle, which was expected to travel along the Kheda-Dholka highway on the night of October 8. The police team intercepted the truck and conducted a search of its cargo.
Upon removing the tarpaulin covering the steel coils, officers discovered 36 black and yellow bags filled with the suspected narcotics. The driver, identified as 33-year-old Bhairaram Tarad from Barmer district in Rajasthan, was arrested.
According to police, the load was reportedly placed in the trailer by a man named Santosh near Jhabua in Madhya Pradesh, who is currently wanted. It is alleged that the driver was promised ₹2 lakh as payment for delivering the cargo to its intended recipient in Gujarat.
Additionally, police have detained Jetaram Kadwasha from Samakhiyali in Kutch district, who is suspected of being the recipient who ordered the cargo. Investigations are ongoing, with efforts to apprehend Santosh still underway.
A case has been registered at the Dholka Rural Police Station under Sections 8(c), 15(c), and 29 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act. Authorities are continuing to investigate the source of the drugs and the involvement of other suspects.
The seized items include a truck-trailer valued at ₹20 lakh, steel coils worth approximately ₹22.22 lakh, two mobile phones valued at ₹7,000, and ₹32,010 in cash, along with the opium husk.
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