Five held with mephedrone worth Rs 1.5 cr in Surat

Five persons were arrested allegedly with mephedrone worth around Rs 1.5 crore in two separate cases in Gujarat’s Surat city on Saturday, police said.

During patrolling, personnel of the Surat city crime branch found 974 grams of mephedrone worth Rs 1 crore in the possession of two persons identified as Tamir Sheikh (20) and Sahid Diwan (19) who were on a motorcycle on Hajira-Sayan road, an official said.

“The duo tried to escape and hid in a farm, but were nabbed after a combing operation that went on for around six hours. In a related case, three persons were arrested with 554 grams of mephedrone worth Rs 55 lakh. They had procured the drug from Mumbai,” he said.

The official identified the three as Irfakhan Pathan, Mohammad Rafiq and Asfaq Kureshi.

All five have been charged under Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act and probe into the peddling network is underway, the official said.