Dungra Police Arrest Man in Vapi Drug Bust Worth Rs 1.21 Cr

A man has been arrested and cannabis-based narcotics worth Rs 1.21 crore have been recovered from a flat in Vapi, Gujarat, after a raid by police in Valsad district on Sunday.

The raid followed a tip that the accused, Kartik alias Pappu Biswal, was keeping narcotic substances at his flat in Lakeview Residency and selling them in small quantities. Dungra police acted on the information.

The team, under the input received by Sub-Inspector K.R. Chotaliya, searched room G/8 in building E/4 and detained Biswal. The seized material weighed 243.670 kilograms and contained active components of ganja, according to police statements. Its value was assessed at Rs 1,21,83,500.

A mobile phone worth Rs 5,000 was also taken into possession. With this, the total value of the property recovered in the operation stands at Rs 1,21,88,500.

Biswal works and lives in Dungra but originally belongs to Badas village in Balasore district of Odisha, under Baliapal police station. He was booked under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act and sent to police custody for further questioning.

Another person, Banmali Patra, who shares the same room at Lakeview Residency, has been named as a wanted accused.

The operation was carried out under the watch of senior officers. B.N. Dave, DSP of the Vapi division, had earlier issued orders for strict action against offences linked to narcotics.

The seizure forms part of the state's declared zero-tolerance policy on drugs. Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel and Deputy Chief Minister Harsh Sanghavi have called for measures to eliminate the drug menace in Gujarat, while State Police Chief G.S. Malik has instructed police across the state to keep up the crackdown on drug networks.

Dungra police said the investigation is continuing to find the source of the substance and to establish whether others were involved in its storage or sale.