₹350 Crore Heroin Seized at Veraval Port: Rajkot Connection Unveiled

In the rivers of Saurashtra, drug trafficking has resurfaced. The Gir-Somnath police have seized a consignment of heroin worth 350 crores. A bundle of 50 kilograms of sealed drugs was found from a boat near Veraval port, leading to the arrest of 9 suspects. During the investigation, a Rajkot connection of one of the suspects named Asif has been uncovered. He was operating an Eco car between Rajkot and Jamnagar. He had gone to the port to take delivery. He received a delivery order on WhatsApp.

Home Minister provided the complete information about the operation.

Home Minister Harsh Sanghvi announced that the Gir-Somnath police team has achieved major success today. The police have seized heroin drugs worth 350 crores and arrested 9 suspects. This network had been under constant surveillance by the police team for the last few days. The team had been keeping a constant watch day and night for the past two days. Finally, today, drugs worth 350 crores have been seized. This drug network has connections with Pakistan and Iraq. The investigation is ongoing, and no one will be spared, from top to bottom. Strict action will be taken against everyone involved.

9 suspects were arrested with a boat and a car.

The Gir-Somnath district LCB police have nabbed a total of 9 individuals, including Asif alias Karan Sharma, Arbaaz Pama, Dharmendra Kashyap, Anujkumar Kashyap, Amankumar Kashyap, Rajkumar Misar, Vishnu Nisar, Rohit Nisar, and Rahul Kashyap. From them, the police seized 50015 grams of heroin drugs along with a fishing boat, a motor car, and four mobile phones.

An event from two years ago resurfaces.

Suspect Asif used to operate a taxi between Jamnagar and Rajkot. In the meantime, he would come as a passenger in his taxi. Two years ago, Asif was assigned to deliver a parcel to a destination under the alias of Minali, for which he was paid Rs. 20,000. Later, Asif was approached via WhatsApp call on the day of 22nd February 2024 and was asked to pick up a parcel from Veraval and deliver it to Rajkot for a trip payment of Rs. 50,000. Later, suspects Anujkumar Kashyap and Asif, along with his friend Arbaaz, were found to be driving around in his friend’s four-wheeler. Unbeknownst to them, their exact location was tracked and sent via WhatsApp. Upon reaching the spot, both suspects kept their car parked a little away.

Caught with the delivery car.

The suspect Dharmendrabhai Budhilal Kashyap was caught with the parcel in the car. Later, as he was about to leave after delivering the parcel, he received a WhatsApp call. As he was taking the parcel out of Veraval, the police got wind of the situation and apprehended him based on the information received. Later, suspect Asif alias Karan Sharma was found to be involved in storing the drug consignment in a boat at the port.

The suspects provided the location of the collected drugs.

In the port, the police conducted a search at the location where suspect Asif had collected the drugs. During the search, a total of 24 kilograms of packets were found hidden in a plastic bag belonging to suspect Dharmendrabhai Kashyap, who was questioned about the matter. During the police interrogation, it was revealed that fishing was being carried out between the maritime boundaries of Oman, and another unidentified person was found associated with this operation.

An unknown contact was found within the maritime boundaries of Oman.

During their interactions via WhatsApp, on January 26, 2024, the suspects Dharmendrabhai and his associates went fishing. During this time, an unknown person contacted suspect Dharmendrabhai through the WhatsApp and offered to deliver approximately 1500 to 1700 kilograms of fish parcels to the Gujarat port for a price of Rs. 50,000. This offer tempted suspect Dharmendrabhai, who accepted it, and two parcels were delivered to his boat. On February 22, 2024, in the morning, the boat was brought to the Veraval port. A parcel containing one of the beneficiaries of Rs. 50,000 was not received, so one of the beneficiaries was pushed into the sea in the dark by suspect Dharmendrabhai.

In Veraval, along the coast of Saurashtra-Kutch, there has been a surge in drug smuggling activities, which have been a concern for authorities for quite some time. Today, once again, the Gir-Somnath Police have uncovered a major drug network worth Rs. 350 crores. From the Veraval port in Gir-Somnath district, a consignment of 50 kilograms of sealed drugs was seized from a boat. Continuous surveillance has been ongoing for the past two days, and the police, as part of this operation, have arrested 9 suspects, including three main perpetrators. In the initial investigation by the police, it has been revealed that this network is linked with Pakistan-Iraq. Previously, the route for drug smuggling used to be through the borders of Kashmir and Punjab into India. However, with these borders being heavily guarded, drug mafias have now opted for Gujarat’s maritime routes to smuggle drugs into the country.