In the second drug bust in Ankleshwar this month, four individuals have been arrested after ₹250 crore were seized from the Avsar Enterprise located in Ankleshwar GIDC.

The Surat Crime Branch received a tip-off that Montu Patel, Virat Patel, and Vipul Patel of Avsar Enterprise in Ankleshwar will be crossing Velanja village via Raj Hotel in Surat.

Acting on the tip-off,  Surat Crime Branch, Surat (rural), and Bharuch Special Operation Group (SOG) nabbed the three with 2.031 kg of MD drugs valued at ₹2.03 crore in a luxurious sedan near Rangoli Chokdi in Kamrej. They were booked under Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act at Kamrej Police Station.

On Monday, a raid conducted jointly by the Surat and Bharuch Police uncovered 141 grams of MD drugs valued at ₹14.10 lakh, while an additional 427 kg of suspected drugs have been sent for testing at the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL).

Authorities have arrested Vishal Patel, the director of the Avsar Enterprise, along with two others. However, the company owner is reportedly abroad. This bust is part of a larger crackdown by Gujarat Police, which recently seized drugs worth thousands of crores.

Earlier, in a similar operation, drugs worth ₹5,000 crore were seized from the Aavkar Drugs Limited in Ankleshwar.

In May 2024, the Election Commission (EC) released data showing that Gujarat contributed nearly one-third of the total value of narcotics seized across India.

Between March 1 and May 18, 2024, the EC reported drug seizures worth ₹3,958.85 crore, which constituted nearly 45% of the total value of all seized items during this period, amounting to ₹8,889 crore. Gujarat alone accounted for ₹1,187.8 crore, or about 30% of these drug seizures.

(With inputs from syndicated feed)