AHMEDABAD: In a major breakthrough against Gujarat's narcotics network, Ahmedabad's Naroda Police have seized methamphetamine worth Rs 14.16 crore and arrested a Mumbai-based courier who was working for a Nigerian drug handler.
The operation has exposed an international trafficking route stretching from Nigeria to Jaipur and Mumbai, prompting a wider hunt for key operatives behind the syndicate.
Ahmedabad City Police have struck a major blow to an international drug trafficking network, seizing methamphetamine worth Rs 14.16 crore and tracing a supply chain that stretches from Nigeria to Rajasthan and Maharashtra.
The high-value narcotics haul near Nana Chiloda Circle has led to the arrest of a key courier and provided investigators with fresh leads into a sophisticated cross-border drug racket operating through multiple Indian cities.
The operation unfolded after Naroda Police received specific intelligence about a suspect allegedly carrying contraband through the Nana Chiloda area.
Acting swiftly, officers laid a surveillance trap near Nana Chiloda Garnala and intercepted a suspicious individual moving through the locality. What initially appeared to be an ordinary travel bag turned out to contain one of the largest drug recoveries in the area.
The detained man was identified as Mohammed Sajid Sheikh, a resident of Andheri West in Mumbai.
During a detailed search, police discovered five large biscuit boxes packed inside his travel bag. Instead of food products, the boxes allegedly concealed methamphetamine in powder and crystal form, carefully hidden to evade detection.
Addressing the media, Ahmedabad Joint Commissioner of Police Jaipal Singh Rathod described the operation as a significant success against organised narcotics trafficking.
"Based on source based intelligence received by the Zone 4 police team, surveillance was mounted near Nana Chiloda. The suspect was intercepted and examined under the provisions of the NDPS Act. During the search, 7.84 kilograms of methamphetamine was recovered from Mohammed Sajid Sheikh, a resident of Andheri West, Maharashtra. The seized narcotics have an estimated market value of Rs 14,16,80,000," Rathod said.
As investigators intensified questioning, the case rapidly expanded beyond a simple courier operation. Preliminary interrogation revealed the involvement of a Nigerian national identified only as "Cuban", who is suspected to be operating as a handler within the trafficking network.
According to police sources, Sheikh allegedly disclosed that he had been contacted by the Nigerian suspect and instructed to travel from Mumbai to Jaipur's Sindhi Camp Bus Station. There, an unidentified individual allegedly handed him the travel bag containing the narcotics.
His assignment was allegedly to transport the consignment through Ahmedabad and ultimately deliver it in Mumbai.
The revelations pointed to a carefully structured trafficking chain in which couriers allegedly played limited roles while higher level operators remained hidden behind layers of intermediaries.
Investigators believe Sheikh was recruited solely as a carrier and was allegedly promised a payment of just ₹10,000 for transporting a drug consignment worth more than Rs 14 crore.
Police officials said the seizure included approximately 7.084 kilograms of methamphetamine, valued at nearly Rs 20,000 per gram in the illegal market. Along with the narcotics, officers confiscated mobile phones, cash, identification documents and the travel bag used for transportation.
The total value of the seized property stands at approximately Rs 14.16 crore.
A case has been registered under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, and Sheikh has been formally arrested. Investigators are now pursuing leads to identify and apprehend the Nigerian handler and the unidentified Jaipur based supplier who allegedly facilitated the transfer of the narcotics.
With international connections emerging in the probe, police suspect the seized consignment may be part of a much larger trafficking network operating across state and national borders.
Investigators are now examining digital evidence, communication records and financial trails to determine the full extent of the syndicate's reach.
The latest seizure marks another significant step in Gujarat's ongoing crackdown on organised drug crime, but investigators believe the operation may have exposed only a small part of a wider network that remains active beyond the arrest made at Nana Chiloda.
