Major Drug Bust in Surat: Odisha Men Arrested with Ganja Worth ₹10 Lakh

Significant Drug Seizure in Surat

Surat/Bhubaneswar: The Special Operations Group (SOG) of Surat City Police has apprehended two individuals from Odisha, seizing 20 kilograms of ganja valued at ₹10 lakh during a raid in the Ved Road locality of Surat, as part of an ongoing initiative against drug trafficking, officials reported on Wednesday.

Following specific intelligence, the SOG team conducted a raid at Room No. 2 on the second floor of House No. 48 in Meena Nagar Co-operative Housing Society, located opposite Akhand Anand College in the Chok Bazar area.

The arrested suspects, Kalucharan Mahanti, aged 31, and Jitu Pradhan, aged 21, both work as zari artisans and hail from Ganjam district in Odisha.

Authorities recovered 20 kg of illegal ganja from the location, with an estimated worth of ₹10 lakh.

Additionally, two mobile phones valued at ₹25,000 were confiscated, bringing the total value of the seized items to ₹10.25 lakh.

According to Surat Police, this operation was executed under the guidance of Police Commissioner Anupam Singh Gehlot, as part of the city's 'No Drugs in Surat City' campaign, aimed at combating the illegal influx of narcotics from other states and reducing drug distribution among the youth.

During their interrogation, the suspects reportedly disclosed that they had procured the ganja from a wanted individual and were en route to deliver it to another fugitive when they were intercepted by the SOG team.

A case has been filed at Chok Bazar Police Station under Sections 8(c), 20(b)(ii)(C), and 29 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act.

Authorities are continuing their investigation to identify and capture other members of the suspected supply network.

This seizure marks the second significant ganja haul in Surat within a span of two days. In a separate incident in the Mahidharpura area, police confiscated over 20 kg of ganja from another suspect who was allegedly transporting the drugs for delivery, bringing the total amount seized in both operations to over 40 kg.

This latest action follows a series of anti-narcotics operations in Gujarat, including the confiscation of 12 kg of hybrid ganja by Ahmedabad's Vatva police and another SOG operation in Himmatnagar, Sabarkantha district, where hybrid ganja was recovered and two suspects were arrested, underscoring ongoing efforts against drug trafficking throughout the state.