Daijiworld Media Network - Ahmedabad
Ahmedabad, Jun 26: The Gujarat Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) has unearthed a major interstate drug trafficking network with the seizure of 2.08 lakh Tramadol tablets valued at approximately Rs 8.32 crore in the international illicit market and the arrest of a Rajasthan-based suspect allegedly involved in distributing large quantities of the psychotropic drug across several states.
Officials said the operation was launched after Deputy Superintendent of Police S.L. Chaudhary received intelligence indicating that Paresh Jain, originally from Sadri in Rajasthan and currently residing in Pardi in Gujarat's Valsad district, had been engaged in the illegal trade of Tramadol for an extended period.
The intelligence was corroborated through technical surveillance and human sources before being acted upon by senior ATS officers.
Investigators found that on June 25, Jain had allegedly dispatched a consignment of Tramadol tablets from Ankleshwar in Gujarat to Pali in Rajasthan through an M.R. Travels luxury bus service.
According to the ATS, the consignment was booked in the name of "New Mahavir Medical" and accompanied by invoices that falsely described the shipment as containing other medicines in an attempt to evade detection.
Acting on the information, Gujarat ATS teams, assisted by the Ahmedabad Crime Branch and the Special Operations Group (SOG), intercepted the bus after it arrived at the M.R. Travels office near Namaste Circle in Shahibaug shortly after midnight.
A search of the vehicle led to the recovery of six cardboard cartons containing 416 smaller boxes labelled "Tramadol Hydrochloride I.P. Tablets 100 mg – Scovidol-100 Tablets." The seized consignment comprised 4,160 strips containing a total of 2.08 lakh tablets.
Officials estimated the value of the recovered drugs at nearly Rs 8.32 crore in the international black market.
Police said Jain fled to Rajasthan after learning about the seizure. A separate ATS team tracked him down and arrested him in Gogunda in Udaipur district. The investigating agency has secured seven days of police custody to interrogate the accused.
During preliminary questioning, Jain allegedly disclosed that after obtaining a medical stockist licence in May this year, he procured nearly 62.54 lakh Tramadol tablets in 25 separate consignments and supplied them to buyers in Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.
Although he possessed a valid pharmaceutical stockist licence, investigators suspect that his primary business involved the illegal diversion and sale of Tramadol.
ATS Deputy Inspector General Sunil Joshi said the successful operation was the outcome of sustained intelligence gathering and close coordination among multiple law enforcement agencies.
He reiterated that both the Central and Gujarat governments follow a zero-tolerance policy against narcotics and that enforcement agencies are working jointly to dismantle drug trafficking networks.
Joshi confirmed that the accused had been arrested from Rajasthan after fleeing Gujarat and that investigators were conducting further interrogation. Searches at locations linked to the accused are also planned to uncover additional consignments and identify members of the wider trafficking network.
The ATS further revealed that Jain has a criminal history involving narcotics-related offences. He had previously been arrested under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act in separate Codeine cough syrup cases registered in Haridwar, Uttarakhand, and Thane, Maharashtra, before securing bail.
Officials also stated that Jain's name had surfaced during the investigation of a Gujarat ATS mephedrone case registered in Vapi around a month ago, in which four accused were arrested and 2.38 kilograms of the synthetic drug were seized.
Regarding the source of the seized tablets, investigators believe the Tramadol was initially procured legally from Uttarakhand before being diverted into the illegal market using forged documentation.
The ATS suspects that several individuals in Rajasthan and other states may have been part of the distribution chain and indicated that additional arrests are likely as the investigation progresses.
Joshi also clarified that under a Central government notification issued around 2018, possession of Tramadol beyond the prescribed quantity attracts action under narcotics laws.
The Gujarat ATS said it will continue expanding the investigation and involve other agencies wherever necessary to dismantle the interstate supply network.