Ahmedabad, February 12 The Special Operations Group of the Ahmedabad police has arrested two individuals and allegedly seized 22.78 kilograms of hybrid ganja worth Rs 7.97 crore, as part of an international drug racket with links to Thailand, an official said on Thursday.
The accused were apprehended in the Sardarnagar area here under relevant provisions of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, according to a press release from the SOG.
The arrested individuals were identified as Chetan Prajapati (28), a native of Nathdwara in Rajasthan, and his cousin Jiya alias Jessica Prajapati (34), currently residing in the Naroda area of Ahmedabad and originally from the Chittorgarh district of Rajasthan.
Acting on specific information, a team from the SOG intercepted the duo on Wednesday near the Premprakash Ashram road in Sardarnagar. Upon checking their belongings, police recovered 22.78 kg of hybrid ganja (cultivated by mixing different strains) valued at Rs 7.97 crore, it said.
According to police, the accused were part of a syndicate involved in trafficking high-quality hybrid ganja from Thailand into India through carriers.
Explaining the modus operandi, officials said that Jiya Prajapati and her cousin Chetan Prajapati allegedly lured needy youths from Rajasthan with the promise of quick money and prepared them to act as carriers for trips to Thailand.
Police said that both the arrested individuals were sending these carriers to Thailand to procure hybrid ganja at the behest of Surat-resident Milan Vaghasia and Ahmedabad-resident Arman Joshi, both of whom are yet to be apprehended.
For each trip, Vaghasia and Joshi allegedly paid Rs 1.5 lakh to Jiya and Chetan. Of this amount, the duo kept Rs 75,000 as commission and handed over the remaining Rs 75,000 to the carrier.
In addition, each carrier was given 7,500 Baht towards expenses in Thailand, out of which Jiya and Chetan allegedly retained 4,000 Baht and passed on the remaining amount to the carrier, police said.
Besides Vaghasia and Joshi, four others are also wanted in the case, according to police.