Hybrid ganja worth ₹69L seized from Merc near Vijay Crossroads, 1 held

Ahmedabad: In a major narcotics haul, the city crime branch’s Special Operations Group seized nearly 2kg of hybrid ganja worth over Rs 69 lakh from a luxury car near Vijay Crossroads late on Tuesday evening. Police on Wednesday said that while one person has been arrested, a wider probe has been launched into an interstate drug network with links to Rajasthan.

“The Special Operations Group (SOG) of the Ahmedabad crime branch seized 1.975kg of hybrid ganja along with a Mercedes-Benz car and other items collectively valued at Rs 79.7 lakh during the operation carried out near the municipal garden opposite Memnagar fire station,” said a senior SOG officer.

According to the FIR filed with the Detection of Crime Branch (DCB) police, the accused has been identified as Hardik Kalal, 26, a resident of Naranpura. A case under the NDPS Act has been registered at DCB police station.

According to police, the SOG received a tip-off that Hardik and his relative, Pradeep Kalal from Rajasthan, were allegedly involved in trafficking hybrid ganja brought from abroad. Acting on the information, teams led by inspectors K D Gohil and A B Bhatt conducted surveillance and tracked the suspect to a hostel near Vijay Crossroads.

During questioning, Hardik allegedly admitted that a trolley bag containing multiple packets of hybrid ganja had been handed over to him near the airport by an associate of Pradeep. Police said seven packets had already been collected by another associate, while two packets remained hidden inside the Mercedes car.

As the car keys were allegedly with a friend, officers broke a small rear window to access the vehicle. A pink bag containing two plastic packets of suspected hybrid ganja was recovered from the back seat. Subsequent forensic examination confirmed the substance to be hybrid ganja.

Police also seized two mobile phones, documents and the car.