Two held with ₹10 lakh worth of mephedrone in Ahmedabad, supplier traced to Madhya Pradesh

Two men were arrested and a woman detained on Sunday after the Special Operations Group (SOG) of Ahmedabad seized nearly 99 grams of mephedrone, worth around ₹9.9 lakh, from their possession near Delhi Darwaza crossroads in Madhupura.

According to the Police Sub-Inspector R K Vaniya of the SOG Front Branch, the team was patrolling the city area on October 5 when they spotted a private luxury bus named Ashok Travels parked near Delhi Darwaza. The bus, travelling from Mandsaur in Madhya Pradesh to Rajkot, was boarding passengers when the officers noticed a man known to have been involved in previous cases of snatching and robbery in the city.

“The suspect was identified as Chirag Ali Sheikh, a 32-year-old resident of Khanpur. On suspicion, the team intercepted him along with two others, a man and a woman, who were accompanying him,” said the senior officer.

The two others were identified as Ejaz Miya Arab (29), a resident of Mirzapur, and Seema aka Mubin Khan Pathan (34), a resident of Sarkhej. During the search, a transparent plastic bag containing white powder was recovered from Sheikh’s trouser pocket.

The suspect admitted that the substance was ‘MD’ (mephedrone), the officers immediately cordoned off the area and informed senior officials.

Forensic officers were called to the spot, and the seizure proceedings were video-recorded. Later, the seized material and the accused were taken to the SOG office, where an officer from the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) conducted a preliminary chemical test confirming the substance to be mephedrone.

The drugs, weighing 98.970 grams, were sealed in tamper-proof containers and valued at ₹9.89 lakh. Two mobile phones and a bus ticket belonging to Ashok Travels were also seized.

During questioning, Sheikh and Arab allegedly confessed that they had procured the contraband from an individual named Imran, based in Mandsaur, Madhya Pradesh. Imran reportedly sent another associate named Raees to deliver the drugs at the Mandsaur bus stand. The accused travelled there on October 3 by a private bus from Ahmedabad and returned with the consignment.

The woman accused, Seema, was allegedly accompanying them to avoid suspicion from law enforcement. Police said her role in the operation is under investigation.

Following the seizure, the SOG registered a case under the sections of the NDPS Act against Sheikh, Arab, Imran, and Raees. While Imran and Raees remain absconding, efforts are on to trace them.

“The contraband was sourced from Mandsaur in Madhya Pradesh and intended for sale in Ahmedabad. The arrested men are part of a small but organised supply chain dealing in synthetic drugs,” said a senior SOG officer.

Both accused were produced before a magistrate on Sunday and remanded in police custody for further investigation.