Two in Surat find international Charas packets on sea coast, and sell them; Police nab all three

Surat: The city police on Thursday, while acting on specific intelligence, conducted two raids at separate locations in the Rander area here and seized 8 kg of high-quality Afghan charas and also nabbed 3 people in connection with this case.

Providing details about the operation, Surat City Police Commissioner A K Tomer said, “The Special Operation Group (SOG) and Prevention of Crime Branch (PCB) teams confiscated approximately 8.329 kg of high-purity Afghan Charas worth around ₹4,15,95,000 in the international market. In the international market, this type of charas is valued at 50 lakh per kilogramme.”

“Due to the vigilance of Surat Police, this significant quantity of charas was apprehended before it could harm the lives of young people. The ‘No Drugs in Surat City’ movement that was initiated in September 2022 is progressing with full force. I believe that the hard work of police officers in making Surat safe and drug-free will bear fruit,” he added.

One of the accused, Pinkesh Patel, works for a private company in Hazira, while another accused, Abhishek Patel, also works for a different company in Hazira. The accused had found the charas packets on the Hazira coast and had hidden them underground. It is the same type of Afghan Charas that was seized from Jakhau coast, Kutch, and Suvali beach earlier, indicating that it either fell from a container or was thrown into the sea, eventually washing ashore. We are also collaborating with the Fishermen Watch group, and any attempts to smuggle narcotics into the city will not succeed, the commissioner added.

It is learnt that accused Pinkesh Patel and Abhishek Patel stumbled upon a stash of charas few days ago and instead of reporting this to the police, they chose to bury the charas behind their residence. Subsequently, they sold the charas to accused Jatin, also known as Jagu Bhagat, residing in the Ramnagar area in Rander. The Special Operations Group (SOG) police received a tip about Jatin’s possession of the charas and interrogated him, resulting in his confession that he had purchased it from Pinkesh and Abhishek. Following further investigation and intensive questioning, Pinkesh and Abhishek confessed that they had found the charas on the Suwali seacoast and had buried it, hoping to obtain a good price for it. DeshGujarat