SMC busts LSD supply chain near Navsari, three held with commercial quantity of drugs

The Gujarat Police’s State Monitoring Cell (SMC) has arrested three persons and seized a commercial quantity of banned narcotics, including LSD paper and ganja, following a targeted operation near Navsari, officials said on Tuesday.

Acting on specific intelligence received by the SMC, a team led by Police Inspector Chandrashekhar Panara conducted a raid on January 12 at Khetla Aapa tea stall, located near the lower end of the Vesma overbridge on National Highway 48, on the Navsari–Palsana stretch.

According to the police, a trusted informant had tipped off the SMC that a man identified as Janish Patel would be delivering strips of LSD, a banned psychotropic substance, at the tea stall. The suspect was reported to be using a blue-and-silver Hero Honda Passion Plus motorcycle. 

Based on the input, the SMC team laid a trap and apprehended three accused, including Janish Mukeshbhai Patel, Bhavya Makwan, and Uttsav Patel, all residents of Navsari district. During the search, police recovered 44 LSD paper strips weighing 2.30 grams, valued at ₹1.32 lakh, along with 33.8 grams of ganja worth ₹1,690. Other articles were also seized, taking the total value of the recovered contraband and material to ₹1.97 lakh

Police said the seized LSD constituted a commercial quantity under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act. A fourth accused, identified as Vasudev Ishwar Patil, a resident of Vijalpore in Jalalpore taluka, has been named in the case and is currently absconding.

A case has been registered at the State Monitoring Cell police station in Gandhinagar on January 13 under Sections of the NDPS Act, 1985, along with Sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, against all four accused.

Senior officials said an in-depth investigation is underway to trace the source of the LSD and to identify possible links to a wider drug distribution network operating in south Gujarat. The State Monitoring Cell has intensified surveillance to curb the trafficking of narcotics and psychotropic substances, the police added.