Gujarat SMC seizes cocaine, heroin worth ₹1 crore in Bardoli raid, 1 arrested, 3 wanted

In a crackdown on narcotics trafficking, Gujarat Police's State Monitoring Cell (SMC) seized cocaine and heroin worth over ₹1.16 crore during a late-night raid near Tran Valla Bridge on the service road along NH-53 in Bardoli, Surat Rural.

The operation was carried out between September 9 and 10 under the provisions of the NDPS Act, police said. The raiding team, apprehended one accused while three others are absconding.

The seizure included 93.57 grams of cocaine valued at ₹93.57 lakh, 46.56 grams of brown heroin worth ₹23.28 lakh, and 20 tablets of Alprazolam worth ₹86. In addition, police recovered a mobile phone worth ₹3,000 and ₹1,120. The total value of the seizure is estimated at ₹1.16 cr.

The arrested accused has been identified as Avnish Sachhitanand Pathak, a resident of Naumunda village in Sukrauli taluka of Kushinagar district, Uttar Pradesh. Police said he was acting as a peddler in the racket.

Three others have been named as wanted accused: Sureshsingh, the alleged main supplier from Julnipur village in Uttar Pradesh; Anil Yadav from Sukrauli, Uttar Pradesh; and Mohit Yadav from Manor, Maharashtra.

Authorities confirmed that Pathak has been handed over to the SMC police station for further interrogation, while efforts are on to trace the absconding suppliers.