Rajkot, Aug 18 (IANS) The Special Operations Group (SOG) of Rajkot City Police seized 204.9 kg of ganja, valued at Rs 1.02 crore, from a truck near Bamanbor on the Ahmedabad-Rajkot highway and arrested two men, police said on Tuesday.
The action was carried out in connection with a drive against the sale and transportation of narcotic substances ahead of the Janmashtami festival.
Acting on information that three men would be travelling in a truck with a consignment of ganja, SOG teams, with technical assistance from the DCB police station, were deployed near Bamanbor.
Police intercepted the vehicle and arrested Mohammad alias Kalo Sarvadi, 26, who was renting a house in Wada Ahir in Rajkot district, and Arbaaz Sandhi, 27, a driver residing in the Bapa Sitaram Chowk area of Rajkot.
The police said two other accused, Rameez alias Mayo Rajakbhai, a resident of Lodhwar in Rajkot, and Amit alias Gurkho, a resident of Hadala near Momai Hotel on Morbi Road in Rajkot, are yet to be arrested.
According to the SOG, Rameez had allegedly agreed to pay the two arrested men Rs 20,000 per trip and sent them to Odisha to collect the ganja. “Amit arranged the consignment in Odisha and sent the two men back to Rajkot with it,” police said.
The seized contraband weighed 204.900 kg and was valued at Rs 1,02,45,000, officials said. Police also seized three mobile phones, the truck, steel pipes, related e-way bills, and other documents.
The total value of the seized property was put at Rs 1,55,73,730. “The information leading to the operation was received on August 17, when SOG officials were alerted that Rameez alias Mayo and the other accused would travel on the Ahmedabad-Rajkot highway with a consignment of ganja,” officials said.
Police subsequently kept watch near the location and intercepted the truck. “The two arrested men were taken into custody, and legal proceedings were initiated at Rajkot Airport Police Station under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act,” officials said.
Senior officials supervised the operation. The case was registered after the seizure, while efforts are underway to trace the two accused, who remain at large.
–IANS
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