Surat: A large quantity of Afghani Charas has been recovered from the Suvali beach of Surat. The Special Operation Group (SOG) and Crime Branch of the Surat Police have seized more than 9 kg of a narcotic substance worth over Rs 4.5 crore.

Upon receiving reports of a substantial amount of charas lying unclaimed near Suvali Beach, SOG P.I. Ashok Chaudhary and Crime Branch PI Rajesh Suvera, along with their staff, arrived at the spot and found nine packages of charas, each weighing more than one kg and packed in plastic airtight wrappers. The packets bore Arabic writing indicating the origin as Afghanistan, with a label marked “Afghan product.”

The recovered charas, totalling  9.59 kg, is highly valued at the international level, where one kg commands a price of 50 lakh rupees. Hence, the estimated worth of this charas haul is over Rs. 4,79,50,000.

This is the first case of charas smuggling by sea coming to light in Surat, following a similar incident in Porbandar and Saurashtra coast. Coastal smugglers are now using South Gujarat as their new route for drug trafficking.

The police have launched a thorough investigation into the seizure of these narcotics, valued at more than four crores internationally, from the coast of Surat. They have also informed ATS about the case and are collaborating with other agencies to determine how such a large quantity of charas reached the Suvali coast. The recovered charas underwent examination by FSL (Forensic Science Laboratory), which confirmed its high quality and origin from Afghanistan.

The details suggest that this charas is from Afghanistan. However, it is important to note that Afghanistan does not have a coastline. This raises suspicions that drug mafias attempted to smuggle the charas into India through the sea route from Pakistan. Due to increased investigation pressure at sea, it is believed that the drug mafia disposed of a bag of charas into the sea from a ship or small boat, and it was later washed ashore in tidal waters. DeshGujarat