Rajkot: The Detection of Crime Branch (DCB) has invoked the Gujarat Control of Terrorism and Organised Crime (GujCTOC) Act, 2015, against the Firoz alias Firiya Sindhi syndicate, booking 20 members, including the gang’s kingpin.Criminal records from 2017 to 2026 revealed that members of the syndicate were involved in 272 criminal cases over the past decade, said Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Jagdish Bangarva. Ten gang members have been arrested, six are already lodged in various jails in connection with other offences, while four remain absconding.Bangarva said the syndicate operated across Rajkot city and district, Jamnagar, Bhavnagar, Junagadh, Morbi and Surendranagar for several years, smuggling Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) from other states and selling it across Saurashtra. Police said that the gang was also involved in offences including attempted murder, kidnapping, criminal intimidation, assault, Arms Act violations and other serious crimes.Investigators said Firoz alias Firiya Menu Sindhi and his associate Harshad alias Mahajan Mandaliya were the kingpings of the syndicate, locally known as the “Firiya Syndicate”.ACP (crime) Bharat Basiya added the probe would also focus on those who financed or managed the syndicate from the backdoor or benefited from its illegal activities. If evidence is found, they too will be booked under GujCTOC.Police added that this was the ninth organised crime syndicate booked under GujCTOC in Rajkot city over the past year. A total of 113 accused have been proceeded against under the Act in these cases.The action follows a recent State Monitoring Cell (SMC) raid in the Kuvadva Road police station area, in which IMFL worth more than Rs 70 lakh and other material worth more than ₹1 crore were seized. The investigation led police to listed bootlegger Firoz Sindhi, who was later arrested near the Gujarat-Rajasthan border along with a supplier from Rajasthan.
