KINGPINS TRAPPED IN 18-MONTH WATCH: Delhi Trio Exposed by Arrested Peddlers—Masterminds Ditched "Family Shields" to Personally Deliver ₹25.65 Cr Narcotics

In a major joint operation, the Ahmedabad and Surat Crime Branches intercepted an interstate drugs syndicate at the Ramol toll tax plaza, seizing 7 kg of contraband valued at ₹25.65 crore. The arrested trio from Delhi, identified as Tifley Naukhez, Kafeel Ahmed Ansari, and Mohammad Imran, were caught transporting the massive stash in an XUV car following an 18-month surveillance drive.

High Financial Risks Forced Masterminds to Act as Carriers

For months, the syndicate operated from the shadows by recruiting financially distressed families and young women to carry smaller consignments of half a kilo to one kilo. Carriers were paid commissions of up to ₹2 lakh per trip to act as shields and evade highway police checks. This strategy kept the core leaders hidden from law enforcement even after local peddlers were caught in Surat and Ahmedabad.

However, the syndicate altered its pattern due to the scale and financial risk of its latest delivery. The seized package contained 4.531 kg of heroin smuggled from Afghanistan and 2.497 kg of MD drugs sourced from Rajasthan. Planning large-scale deliveries across six to seven locations in Gujarat, including Rajkot, the kingpins chose to deliver the consignment themselves rather than relying on couriers. Acting on precise intelligence, joint teams laid a trap along the expressway and caught them.

Drone Drops and Encryption Apps Masked Operations

Police investigations revealed that the heroin was dropped across the Punjab border from Pakistan via drones, originating from Kandahar, Afghanistan. Central security agencies, including the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), have stepped in to probe the international border supply chain, potential narco-terrorism ties, and funding channels executed through hawala or cryptocurrency.

To maintain operational secrecy, the syndicate avoided normal mobile networks and WhatsApp, communicating exclusively via the Zangi messenger app. The military-grade encryption platform, which stores no data on servers and automatically deletes messages, was used to contact their Kandahar-based handler, Rehmat Gul. Through secret codes and secure chats, the masterminds coordinated delivery routes, timings, and deals with local peddlers while successfully avoiding location tracking and call interception until the joint ambush.