Ahmedabad: An Indian drug smuggler who escaped from a prison in Nepal during last year’s violent Gen Z protests was arrested in the city today. Dharmesh Chunara was found hiding at the residence of his bootlegger mother-in-law in the Kagadapith area.

Chunara had been arrested at Kathmandu airport last year while allegedly attempting to smuggle 13 kg of hybrid ganja, worth nearly Rs 13 crore, from Bangkok. He was later jailed but managed to flee during the protests when local youths stormed the prison, eventually returning to Ahmedabad.

The unrest initially erupted over the Nepal government’s decision to ban social media platforms but soon expanded into a larger anti-corruption movement, forcing then Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli to resign. After the agitation, Nepalese authorities shared information about several Indian nationals who escaped from prisons with Indian agencies.

Acting on specific intelligence after months of tracking, the Ahmedabad Crime Branch located Chunara in Kagadapith and arrested him. Investigators said he was previously involved in smuggling ganja into India via Nepal and are probing whether he was planning a similar operation in Ahmedabad.

Crime Branch Joint Commissioner Sharad Singhal confirmed the arrest, adding that another accused from Surat linked to the case remains absconding. Chunara will now be handed over to a central agency for extradition proceedings to Nepal. DeshGujarat