Gujarat Anti-Terrorism Squad arrests 3 drug peddlers in Alprazolam drug case

The Gujarat Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) has arrested three more accused in connection with a major drug seizure case from earlier this year involving Alprazolam and other banned substances worth Rs 107 crore.

The latest arrests were made from three different districts outside Gujarat. According to ATS officials, the accused had made advance payments of rs 30 lakh for 107 kg of Alprazolam, a banned drug under the NDPS Act.

The three arrested drug peddlers have been identified as Aslam Khan, Kaluram Patidar and Sakil Mohammad. Investigations revealed that Aslam Khan, a resident of Madhya Pradesh, had paid Rs 15 lakh for 5 kg of Alprazolam. Kaluram Patidar and Sakil Mohammad, both from Rajasthan, paid Rs 30 lakh for 11 kg.

The payments were routed through Angadia services to the main supplier, Ajay Jain.

ATS officials said Ajay Jain procured Alprazolam and Tramadol from another accused, Vijay Makwana, and sold them to various buyers including the three newly arrested.

Aslam Khan has previously served a 10-year jail sentence under the NDPS Act in 2011. Kaluram Patidar has three NDPS cases against him, with one conviction leading to a 2-year sentence.

Meanwhile, earlier in January, Gujarat ATS had raided Greenlife Industries in Neja village, Khambhat taluka of Anand district and uncovered a drug manufacturing unit.

Six accused were arrested during the raid and 2518 kg of chemicals including Alprazolam were seized. Later, 500 kg of Tramadol was also recovered from a warehouse in Dholka.

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