Vikas Ahir

An ice cream vendor and two of his associates have been arrested for selling drugs in Surat’s Salabatpura area. 

The Special Operations Group (SOG) of Surat police raided the Grand Villa Hotel near Udhna Darwaja on July 21 following a tip-off about a drug smuggling operation. They arrested Chetan Sahu (22) and seized 345.910 g mephedrone, also called meow meow on the street, worth ₹35,49,100, two mobile phones, a car, and ₹11,350 cash, found in his possession.

Sahu revealed the names of his associates Anishkhan alias Annu Lakdawala, Vikas Ahir, and Rehan Ansari to the police. He said that Ahir used the ice cream cart he operated in Surat’s Salabatpura as a front to sell the MD, which was ordered via social media platform Snapchat and Instagram from a seller identified as Javed in Rajasthan’s Pratapgarh. 

The drug ring also used other ice cream carts, ice cream parlours and even two-wheelers as points of sale. 

The SOG has arrested Lakdawala and Ahir, who are believed to have come in contact with Sahu via Instagram, while Ansari and Javed have been declared “wanted”. 

No strangers to crime

Ahir, a known drug user and the leader of Hindu Yuva Vahini in Surat, was earlier arrested for a robbery at a builder's office in Amroli and his weapons licence was revoked.

Lakdawala, whose criminal history includes a kidnapping and murder case in 2017, was arrested by Althan police with drugs just five months ago. He was released on bail two months ago.

Ansari, the son of BJP Minority Front vice-president Jamil Ansari, also has a criminal record related to drugs. The primary investigation found that Ansari — who bought 5g MD from Sahu on the night of July 20 — had previously purchased 300g of the narcotic.

Signs of deep rot?

These arrests come a day after a bhajiya vendor was nabbed for selling MD in Surat on July 20. Less than a week prior, two engineers were among three held for running a manufacturing unit out of a tin shed on the outskirts of the city. 

This recent spate of drug busts reveals a disturbing trend. The diverse profiles of those arrested — from street vendors to engineers — and the wide array of legitimate businesses used as fronts for narcotics trade underscore the pervasive nature of the problem. Law enforcement officials face a complex challenge as they work to uproot this deeply entrenched network of illegal drug operations. 

Also read:

Drugs sold at ‘bhajiya’ stall in Surat, three nabbed