Ahmedabad: In a major breakthrough, the Ahmedabad City Crime Branch (DCB) has arrested Anilkumar Pandi, also known as Sitaram or Raja, a 39-year-old drug kingpin from Odisha, who had been absconding for over a decade. The accused has been booked under various Sections 8(C), 20(B), 27, and 29 of the NDPS Act and was wanted in a total of 12 NDPS-related cases.

As per the police, the accused hails from Jagannathpur Chhachina village, Ganjam district, Odisha, and was primarily involved in animal husbandry and agriculture before turning to drug trafficking. Anilkumar previously resided for six months in 2013 in the Utkalnagar slum, Fulpada, Katargam, Surat, where he began building his marijuana distribution network across Gujarat.

Anilkumar, a graduate, had studied in local schools and colleges in Ganjam, Odisha, before briefly working with his father in agriculture and cattle rearing. In 2013, he moved to Surat seeking work and soon became involved in the illegal supply of marijuana. Over the last ten years, he transported ganja from Odisha to various districts in Gujarat, using railway networks and rented warehouses in Surat, including areas like Dindoli, Pandesara, Utaran, Udhna, Utkalnagar, and Varachha, as well as rural regions.

The Gujarat and Odisha police had been jointly searching for him, given his central role in an interstate drug trafficking network. His brother, Sunil Pandi, aged 32, and father, Vrindavan Dandapani Pandi, were also involved in the operation. Sunil Pandi had previously been arrested in 2021 by Surat police for NDPS-related offenses.

The arrest follows a high-profile case registered in Bhubaneswar involving 990 kg of ganja supplied by Anilkumar. As a result, the Government of India has seized immovable property worth ₹2.09 crore in the names of the accused and his father, along with two vehicles valued at ₹26 lakh. In total, assets worth approximately ₹2.35 crore, linked to the illegal drug business, have been confiscated.

This arrest marks the dismantling of one of Gujarat’s most meticulously organized drug networks. DeshGujarat