Surat: The Special Operations Group (SOG) of Surat Police on Sunday detained three individuals involved in smuggling and dealing drugs from Rajasthan. After bringing the drugs from Rajasthan, the accused were selling them under the guise of ice cream lorries.

Acting on a tip-off about drug smuggling from Rajasthan, the SOG conducted a raid at The Grand Villa Hotel near Udhna Darwaja on Ring Road. During the raid, police found 354 grams of MD drugs on an accused named 22-year-old Chetan Sahu, who was staying in room 704 of the hotel. Sahu, who hails from Udaipur, Rajasthan, had the drugs along with two mobile phones, a car, and ₹11,350 in cash. All the items worth ₹44,75,000 were confiscated.

Investigations revealed that Chetan was supposed to deliver the drugs to Anishkhan Lakdawala and Vikas Ahir in Surat. Both individuals have also been arrested. Further interrogation disclosed that drugs were previously smuggled from Maharashtra to Surat, but due to a crackdown by Surat city police, the supply chain was disrupted. Consequently, drug traffickers have shifted to a new route via Rajasthan to enter Gujarat.

The investigation also revealed that Vikas Ahir, one of the accused, used to operate a lorry named Bhavani Ice Cream in the Salabatpura area, which he used as a front to sell drugs. It was learned that he is a second-year LLB student at V.T. Choksi Sarvajanik Law College. Additionally, the drugs were ordered via Snapchat and Instagram from Rajasthan, and once they arrived in Surat, they were sold through ice cream lorries, Ice Cream parlours, or on two-wheelers.

The accused have been involved in various criminal activities across six police stations in Surat. Previously, Vikas had robbed a builder’s office in the Amroli area, leading to a case being registered against him at the Amroli police station and the cancellation of his firearm license. It was also found that Vikas owns a hotel in Udaipur, Rajasthan. The Surat city police had been monitoring him for the past month to dismantle the drug supply chain from Rajasthan. Ultimately, they succeeded in apprehending Chetan Sahu, who was transporting the drugs from Rajasthan to Surat.

Three cases have been registered against Anish Khan at the Khatodara, Sachin, and Althan police stations. During interrogation, it was revealed that in 2017, he allegedly kidnapped a person, killed him, and dumped the body in a drain in Dumas. A case of kidnapping and murder was registered against him at Khatodara police station. Additionally, he had been arrested in an NDPS case at the Althan police station earlier. DeshGujarat