17.65 kg of drugs worth Rs 88.25 crores seized in Gujarat

A senior police officer on Wednesday informed that a 44-year-old has been arrested in Devbhumi Dwarka of Gujarat for allegedly possessing 17.65 kg of heroin and methamphetamine worth Rs 88.25 crore. The drugs are suspected of having originated from Pakistan and smuggled through the sea.

Sajjad Ghosi, a vegetable vendor by profession, hails from Thane district, Maharashtra. He claims that he came to Khambhalia to take a consignment of drugs from two brothers. The police arrested the two brothers, Salim Kara and Ali Kara, from Salaya town in the Devbhumi Dwarka on Wednesday after Ghosi's arrest on Tuesday. 47 packets suspected to be containing drugs were seized from the two brother, said Sandeep Singh, a senior police officer of Rajkot range.

"Based on a tip-off, the police arrested Sajjad Ghosi from a guest house in Khambhalia town on Tuesday. We recovered 19 packets from his bags, which contained 11.483 kg of heroin and 6.168 kg of methamphetamine. Ghosi claimed that he had received the drugs from the Kara brothers of Salaya," Singh said. Ghosi informed the police that he had taken the delivery of the 17.65 kg of drugs from the two brothers and that he was planning to return to Thane. He had come to come to Khambhalia three days back, he added.

"We then raided Kara brothers' house and seized 47 similar packets. We are yet to ascertain the contents of these packets. Ghosi had gone to jail in a murder case in the past and Salim Kara has been arrested in the past in NDPS, fake currency and Arms Act cases," Singh said.

Preliminary investigations have revealed that the seized contraband originated from Pakistan and was smuggled into Gujarat via the sea route by the Kara brothers. A detailed probe is underway.