Two arrested with mephedrone worth ₹6 lakh in Ahmedabad

Two persons were arrested with nearly 200 grams of the synthetic drug mephedrone in Ahmedabad following a late-night raid by Gujarat Police's State Monitoring Cell, officials said on Thursday.

The accused Deepakkumar Dahyalal Vaghela, 40, a travel operator from Saraspur, and Rubina Rashidbhai Mirza, 30, a homemaker from Ramol were allegedly caught with 198.32 grams of mephedrone, commonly known as 'MD', valued at approximately ₹5.94 lakh.

According to an SMC official, the police team received specific information on March 11 that a man would arrive in Khokhra area carrying narcotics for sale. Acting on the tip-off, officers kept a watch and moved to the area near Trinity Homeopathy Clinic, behind Sonaria Block in Bapunagar.

Around 6.15 pm, the team spotted a man and a woman standing near a motorcycle. After introducing themselves and questioning the duo, officers searched their belongings.

Police said Mirza was carrying a saffron-and-cream coloured bag containing two plastic packets filled with a cream-coloured powder. A preliminary test conducted by a forensic officer confirmed the substance to be mephedrone.

The two packets were later weighed and found to contain a total of 198.32 grams of the banned drug. Officers also seized two mobile phones valued at ₹20,000 and the motorcycle worth around ₹50,000, taking the total value of seized items to approximately ₹6.64 lakh.

During questioning, Vaghela allegedly told investigators that he had procured the contraband through a contact identified as Moin. According to police, the supplier arranged delivery of the drugs near Himmatnagar through an unidentified associate travelling in a car with tinted windows.

Investigators said Vaghela and Mirza were previously booked in a narcotics case last year and had been released on bail. Despite the earlier case, they allegedly resumed drug trafficking and planned to sell the mephedrone in retail quantities in Ahmedabad.

Police registered a case under Sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 along with relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.

Officials said further investigation is under way to trace the supplier and identify other members of the suspected drug distribution network.