AHMEDABAD: Surat’s Puna police arrested 28-year-old Mohammad Rehan Jamil Ahmed Ansari with 3.26 grams of mephedrone (MD) near the New APMC Fruit Market and launched a hunt for his alleged supplier, identified as Nadim.
Acting on a tip-off, police laid a trap near the market after receiving information that a man was travelling on a moped carrying MD drugs from Intercity Creek Bridge towards Anjana Farm. A police team intercepted him on the road and identified him as Rehan, a Surat resident originally from Uttar Pradesh.
Rehan, who runs a snack cart in Surat’s Bhathena area, was subjected to a personal search. Police allegedly recovered a transparent push-lock pouch containing a white-and-yellow powder from his trouser pocket. A search of the moped’s storage compartment led to the recovery of a battery-operated digital weighing scale, mobile phone, Rs 300 cash and an identity card.
A preliminary test using an FSL kit indicated that the substance was mephedrone, commonly known as MD. It weighed 3.26 grams and was valued at around Rs 9,780, police said. The total value of the seized property, including the drugs, moped, mobile phone, weighing scale and other articles, was estimated at Rs 70,180.
During questioning, police said Rehan admitted to being addicted to MD drugs and disclosed that he had allegedly purchased the contraband from Nadim, who reportedly operates near the Fish Market area close to the mound near the Navsari Bazaar cemetery.
Police registered a case against Rehan under the NDPS Act and declared Nadim wanted.
Police said Rehan had previously been arrested in connection with a drug procurement racket involving drugs worth Rs 35 lakh and had served time in jail. In August 2024, Surat SOG had arrested several people, including Chetan Sahu of Rajasthan, Vikas Ahir, identified as Surat president of Hindu Yuva Vahini, and Anishkhan Lakdawala, from an OYO hotel near Udhna Darwaja in connection with the case.
Rehan, the son of Jamil Ansari, also known as Jamil Biryani, a former vice-president of the BJP Minority Morcha, was also arrested in that case. Police said that after his release, he allegedly returned to drug use and was again caught carrying MD drugs.