The Surat police arrested a Mumbai -based drug peddler and seized mephedrone drug worth Rs 79.2 lakh along with cash worth Rs 1,100 and two mobile phones Wednesday night.
The police have also launched a hunt for the receiver of the drug and the sender.
Under the ‘No Drugs in Surat City’ drive, the police gathered intelligence on the inflow of banned drugs through Mumbai-based peddlers.
Acting on the information, Saroli police of Surat city intercepted a youth walking on the road with a black colour travel bag.
On checking the bag, the police found a drug-like substance inside it.
The officials of the Forensics Laboratory were called in to verify if it was mephedrone.
The officials weighed the drug and found it to be 792 gram, which is worth Rs 79.28 lakh in the market.
The peddler was later identified as Mohammed Ahmed alias Monu (35), a tailor by profession and a resident of the Dharavi slums in Mumbai.
The police lodged an offence under IPC sections and the Sections 8(C), 22 (C) and 29 of the NDPS Act.
After primary interrogation, Monu disclosed that he had come from Mumbai to Surat in a private luxury bus.
The contraband was given to him by one Shehbaz in Mumbai to get it delivered to a person named Asif in Surat.
The police said Monu works at a tailoring shop and was in need of money.
He got involved in trafficking drugs through a friend.
Surat police commissioner Ajay Kumar Tomar said, “We have announced a Rs 20,000 reward to Saroli police for their excellent work.” He added, “We have got a good response to our ‘No Drugs in Surat City’ initiative.
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