Surat Charas Discovery: Youth’s Lottery-Like Find of 4 Crores Worth Afghan Charas

High-Priority Afghan Charas Seized from Surat’s Riverside and Hazira Area. Police Arrest Three Suspects and Confiscate 8.319 Kilograms Worth 4 Crores 15 Lakhs 95 Thousand Rupees of Charas. Among the Arrested, Two Worked for Multinational Companies. They had gone to the riverbank, where they stumbled upon a stash of Charas hidden in a sack. Instead of reporting it to the police, they decided to profit from it. Some of the stash was sold to a young man, and the entire operation was eventually exposed and dismantled.

In the alley of Lakshmi Dairy, the police conducted a raid.

In Surat, it came to light that SOG (Special Operations Group) Police Head Constable Yogesh Kansarabhai received information that a person in the Rander area had been involved in selling high-priority Afghan charas for the last 25 days. Based on this information, a team consisting of SOG and PCB (Police Control Bureau) officers conducted a raid in the lane of Lakshmi Dairy located on the Rander Palanpur Patiya Road. The police caught Jagat Jatin Girishbhai Bhagat, also known as Jaggu (age 26), who resides in Kirtinagar Society in the vicinity of Rander Ramnagar. The police seized 2.173 kilograms of high-priority Afghan charas with a market value of 1 crore 8 lakh 65 thousand rupees from him.

More Charas Unearthed from the Ground

The police, during their intensive interrogation, learned that a significant stash of this charas had been buried in the Hazira area. Acting on this information, the police conducted a raid at House Number 453 in Neelamnagar Society, Hazira Gam. Behind the house, they discovered a hidden stash buried under a marked plot of land. From this excavation, the police seized 6.146 kilograms of high-priority Afghan charas with a market value of 3 crores 7 lakhs 40 thousand rupees. In this incident, the police also apprehended Pinkesh Shantilal Patel, residing there, and Abhishek, also known as Abhi Rohit Patel, residing in Jahangirpura Sankalp Row House.

Young Man Mistakenly Thinks Charas is a Lottery Win

Both apprehended suspects, during their intense police questioning, revealed that Pinkesh Shantilal Patel resides in Hazira Gam and works as a crane operator in Adani Group. On the other hand, Abhishek, also known as Abhi Patel, resides in Jahangirpura and works as a labor supplier in Arsenal Mittal Company. Both were supporting their families through their respective jobs. Meanwhile, a few months ago, both friends had gone to Hazira Dariakant area for some recreational activities.

During their time by the river, they stumbled upon a bag of inherited charas hidden in the Jhankhara forest. Upon inspecting it, they realized it was worth millions. Excited by their discovery, they decided to keep it as their ‘lottery win’ instead of reporting it to the police. They buried the illegal stash in their family’s properties, thinking they had struck gold.

Searching for Buyers, Says Ajay Tomar

Surat Police Commissioner Ajay Tomar revealed that after obtaining the charas, both young men were actively searching for buyers. At that time, Abhishek, also known as Abhi Patel, who resides in Jahangirpura area of Surat, and his friend Jatin, also known as Jaggu Girishbhai Bhagat, who lives in Rander area, had decided to sell the charas they had acquired. The information came to light when it was discovered that they had handed over two packets of charas to Jaggu Girishbhai Bhagat for selling. During this period, the SOG (Special Operations Group) and PCB (Police Control Bureau) managed to apprehend Jaggu and successfully seized the entire stash of charas.

He Used to Deal in Buying and Selling Cars Before

It was further disclosed that two packets of charas had been handed over to Jatin, also known as Jaggu Girishbhai Bhagat, for selling. Among them, Jatin had already sold more than 1 kilogram of charas in various small quantities within the city. Currently, all three arrested suspects have been caught with 8 kilograms 319 grams of high-priority Afghan charas. Jatin, also known as Jaggu Girishbhai Bhagat, who was previously involved in a murder case in 2017 in Adajan police station, and was also previously involved in a prohibition case in Rander police station, used to deal in buying and selling cars before and has been unemployed for quite some time now.

One Kilogram of Seized Charas Valued at 50 Lakhs Internationally

The Police Commissioner further revealed that the seized charas is Afghan high-priority charas, which holds a significant international market value. The international market price for one kilogram of this charas is approximately 50 lakhs in Indian rupees. The total worth of the seized 8.319 grams of charas in the international market is estimated to be around 4 crores 15 lakhs 95 thousand rupees. Currently, this entire case falls under the NDPS Act, and the police are conducting a thorough investigation in the Udhana Purvak area.

It is believed that the previously seized stash of charas may be the same as the one found recently. Earlier, the SOG and PCB police had recovered a significant quantity of Afghan charas from the Suvali area just a while ago. Subsequently, a team of SOG police had conducted searches in the Hazira area, but no more stashes were found at that time. However, the information had already been circulated in the media. Following this, the charas seemed to have found its way to these two individuals who, instead of notifying the police, decided to keep it with themselves. Therefore, it is now suspected that the stash recovered from the two individuals might be part of the charas that was previously discovered in Suvali. Further investigations are ongoing to confirm this.