SMC busts MD drug manufacturing racket in Surat: 6 sent to remand, hunt on for mastermind

Six individuals allegedly involved in manufacturing and smuggling of MD drug in Gujarat were sent to six days’ remand by a Surat court.

The accused were caught producing MD drugs near Kamrej toll plaza, an operation that was uncovered by Gujarat Police’s State Monitoring Cell (SMC) during a raid at a flat in Mansarovar Residency. The accused were involved in illegal activities for the past two years, as per the police.

The accused purchased chemicals required for manufacturing drugs from a pharmacy agency in Mahidharpura. During the raid, the SMC seized 12.53 milligrams of MD drugs worth ₹1.25 lakh, three mobile phones, a weighing scale, and other equipment, with the total seizure valued at ₹1.63 lakh.

Two primary accused, identified as Munaf alias Munno Qureshi and Ketan Rafaliya, were detained from the flat. Officials also recovered six pairs of special gloves used during the drug-making process. Investigations revealed that Narayan Bharwad had arranged the flat for manufacturing operations.

The network extended beyond Surat, with Shahbaz alias Sabo Saiyed, Mehul Chohla, and Sahil alias Bajari Belim allegedly handling the supply chain. The entire operation was reportedly orchestrated by a mastermind named Atiq, currently wanted in three to four separate cases, while financial transactions were managed by an associate named Bali from Bhavnagar.

The SMC has declared Atiq and Bali as wanted and carried out raids across multiple locations in Saurashtra, leading to the arrest of Narayan Rathod, Shahbaz Saiyed, Mehul Chohla, and Sahil Belim. All six accused were presented in court today, where the prosecution sought custody to probe deeper into the supply network.

The court granted six days’ remand to the SMC to trace the larger nexus and locate the absconding accused.