In a state that is considered 'dry' on paper, the frequent seizures of drugs and liquor in its largest city Ahmedabad belie the claims of the Ahmedabad Police that the "situation is under control”. Over the past six months, it has been the State Monitoring Cell (SMC), Gujarat ATS, Customs and the Crime Branch that have led high-value seizures in Ahmedabad — from parcels of MDMA intercepted at the Foreign Post Office to bootlegging networks exposed in Ghatlodia.

While city police insist they are conducting “intensive” enforcement under the Prohibition Act and the NDPS Act, the most significant cases have been cracked open by outside agencies, often in neighbourhoods where local police stations are only a few minutes away. The pattern has raised an uncomfortable question in policing circles: why are state and central agencies more effective than the Ahmedabad Police on their own turf?

Embarrassments pile up

The city police faced one of their biggest embarrassments in July when a viral video exposed two large-scale country liquor hubs brazenly functioning in Ghatlodia, the Assembly constituency of Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel. Despite repeated complaints from locals about these liquor dens, they were reportedly allowed to operate. The footage went viral, prompting the suspension of Ghatlodia Police Inspector Jagdish Kandoriya. It was only after the incident that the force intensified prohibition raids, with senior officers promising stricter monitoring.

Yet, soon after, it was the SMC that conducted decisive raids. In July, the unit raided a peddling point in Danilimda, seizing over ₹23 lakh worth of narcotics, cash, and other items. Similarly right opposite the Special Operations Group (SOG) office in Juhapura, officials arrested one person for possession of Mephedrone worth over ₹3.42 lakh in a late-night anti-narcotics raid. Shockingly, the Ahmedabad Police had no clue of the racket operating within walking distance of one of their own specialised units.

Peddling dens and party zones

Enforcement records and field sources point to Danilimda, Shah Alam, Juhapura and Vejalpur as major peddling hubs in the city. According to officials, traffickers often use women and children as carriers to avoid suspicion, making the trade harder to crack through conventional policing.

On the demand side, affluent stretches such as Sindhu Bhavan Road, Rajpath Rangoli Road and Science City Road have emerged as hotspots for consumption of 'party drugs' like MDMA and mephedrone. Agencies believe a large share of the synthetic drug trade is fuelled by a steady clientele among students and young professionals in these pockets.

Liquor seizures show east-west divide

Bootlegging networks, meanwhile, continue to thrive across Ahmedabad despite Gujarat’s prohibition laws. The highest number of IMFL seizures in the first half of 2025 were reported in eastern parts of the city — Sardarnagar, Naroda, Charanagar, Nikol, Asarwa and Bapunagar — where small-time syndicates run local supply chains.

In the west, areas like Gota, Ghatlodia, Sola, Sabarmati and Chandkheda have become known bootlegging zones, often operating discreetly out of residential societies. Police claim to have increased surprise checks, but seizures have mostly come after tip-offs routed through state-level agencies.

Drugs seep into the city

Between January and July 2025, Ahmedabad witnessed a spate of narcotics seizures — most of them driven by agencies other than the city police.

In March, the Detection of Crime Branch (DCB) along with Customs intercepted international parcels at the Foreign Post Office, recovering 248 grams of MDMA, part of consignments worth over ₹3.45 crore that also included hybrid ganja and charas. In May, the Ahmedabad Crime Branch arrested two men from Madhya Pradesh with half a kilo of mephedrone on the Ahmedabad–Vadodara Expressway.

The SMC too carried out targeted raids — including at Isanpur in July where mephedrone was seized from a grocery shop, and near IIM-Ahmedabad where two men were caught with drugs allegedly meant for the student population.

The question remains

Despite these repeated recoveries, the city police continue to claim that their own raids have been 'intensive' and that the consumption pattern is under watch. But the fact that state and central agencies are repeatedly uncovering networks inside Ahmedabad, sometimes right under the nose of local units, has deepened doubts about the city force’s ground intelligence.

For now, the gap is stark: Ahmedabad Police are on the defensive, while the SMC and other agencies continue to lead the fight against drugs and liquor in Gujarat’s largest city.

Major drug and liquor-related seizures in Ahmedabad (Jan–Jul 2025)

Narcotics cases—

• 20 Jan 2025 — Laldarwaja: Gujarat ATS seized 55 g of suspected MD drugs worth ₹27 lakh; one arrest.
• 13 Mar 2025 — Foreign Post Office (Ahmedabad): DCB & Customs intercepted parcels; 248 g MDMA, 10.65 kg hybrid ganja, 79 g charas, cannabis oil; total value ₹3.45 crore.
• 27 May 2025 — Ahmedabad–Vadodara Expressway: Ahmedabad Crime Branch seized 525 g mephedrone worth ₹52.5 lakh; two arrested.
• 3–4 Jul 2025 — Isanpur: SMC seized 53.83 g mephedrone worth ₹5.38 lakh from a grocery shop; two booked (one minor).

State Monitoring Cell (SMC) raids in Ahmedabad—

• 6 Jan 2025 — Sepan Villa Society, Moraiya: SMC + local police busted a con-call centre; five arrests, assets worth ₹31.66 lakh seized.
• 16 Jan 2025 — Naroda GIDC: 2,326 bottles of IMFL seized (₹14.66 lakh); local PI suspended for negligence.
• May 2025 — Near IIM-Ahmedabad: Two men from Dariapur held with 55 g mephedrone worth ₹5.5 lakh; network targeting students suspected.
• 3–4 Jul 2025 — Isanpur: Grocery shop raid; 53.83 g mephedrone seized (₹5.38 lakh); one accused absconding.
• 31 Jul — SMC arrested one person seized mephedrone worth over ₹3.42 lakh, opposite the SOG office in Juhapura.
• 6 Aug — Danilimda area: SMC seizing over ₹23 lakh worth of narcotics, cash, and other items.