Ahmedabad: In Gujarat’s fight against narcotics, the biggest challenge may no longer be finding the drugs. It is finding the person behind them.More than half the value of narcotics seized in the state in June was recovered from consignments where investigators did not find an accused at the spot. The pattern has drawn attention to a growing enforcement challenge: drug consignments being abandoned or left at designated locations for someone else to collect, while the transporter and intended recipient stay out of sight.Data from the monthly enforcement registers of the Anti-Narcotics Task Force (ANTF), CID Crime and railway police show that agencies seized narcotics worth around Rs 48 crore in 28 quality NDPS cases during June. Four of these consignments, valued at Rs 28.2 crore — nearly 59% of the total seizure value — were recovered without an accused being arrested at the recovery spot.Together, the four cases involved 157.8kg of narcotics, including a 27.4kg consignment of heroin valued at Rs 27.3 crore recovered in West Kutch.The pattern broadly resembles what investigators call a ‘dead drop’ — a method in which a drug consignment is left at a predetermined location for another person to collect later. It eliminates the need for the supplier, transporter and recipient to meet physically, making surveillance and arrests significantly more difficult.The most striking case was reported by Narayan Sarovar police in Kutch on June 17, when 27.4kg of heroin worth Rs 27.3 crore was recovered. No accused was found at the spot in connection with the seizure.Two days later, Vayor police recovered 14.3kg of charas valued at Rs 21.4 lakh, again without an accused being apprehended. On June 10, Porbandar Harbour Marine police recovered 2.2kg of charas worth Rs 5.6 lakh from another unattended consignment.The railway network too threw up a similar challenge. On June 1, Vadodara Railway Police Force recovered 113.9kg of ganja worth Rs 57 lakh from an unattended consignment, but no accused was arrested during the recovery.For investigating agencies, such seizures can be a double-edged sword. They prevent a large quantity of narcotics from reaching the market, but the absence of a suspect at the scene can leave agencies with more difficult task of establishing who transported the drugs, who financed them and who was supposed to collect them.Police officials across agencies say drug networks are increasingly exploiting technology and social media-based communication to coordinate consignments and keep participants separated. However, the June seizure data by itself does not establish that all four cases were deliberately executed through dead drops, nor does it indicate that the consignments were linked.Box: When couriers get caught, cops get leadJune’s data also shows a sharp contrast: when police intercepted drugs in transit or during delivery, arrests usually followed. Ahmedabad police seized 803.8g of mephedrone in four cases and arrested five people, while Surat’s Sachin police recovered 52.4g and arrested one. The Gujarat ATS seized 140.1g of mephedrone on June 29 and arrested two suspects. Adesar in Kutch and Talod in Sabarkantha also reported mephedrone seizures with arrests. Naroda police recorded one of the month’s biggest interceptions involving an accused, seizing 7.1kg of methamphetamine worth Rs 14.2 crore and arresting a man during an alleged delivery. The difference is crucial: when an accused, phone, vehicle or delivery point is found, investigators have a lead that can potentially open up the wider supply chain.Box: Bulk drugs moved through highways, trainsGanja and poppy straw made up much of the bulk narcotics seized across Gujarat in June. Police recovered 468.5kg of ganja, valued at Rs 2.4 crore, in cases spanning Vadodara Railway, Valsad, Anand, Surat and Bhachau. Twelve people were arrested, excluding a Vadodara railway recovery where no accused was found. Pardi police seized 74.3kg of ganja and arrested one person, while Khambholaj police in Anand recovered 43kg and made one arrest. Three Surat police stations — Sachin, Mahidharpura and Chowk Bazaar — together seized 82.2kg and arrested three people. In Banaskantha, Dhanera police seized 393.7kg of poppy straw worth Rs 59.1 lakh and arrested one person.
