Three from Rajasthan arrested for MD trafficking

Surat: The State Monitoring Cell (SMC) raided an apartment in Dindoli and seized 1,053 grams of mephedrone (MD) worth Rs 31.60 lakh, arresting three Rajasthan natives who allegedly supplied the drug in Surat.Police said the trio had delivered one consignment in the city around a month ago and had arrived to deliver a second consignment when the SMC team, led by Police Inspector C H Panara, raided Regent Plaza and caught them.
The arrested accused were identified as Om Prakash Jat, Mahendra Joshi and Chailsingh Purohit. Police said Purohit has previous cases registered against him under the NDPS Act, as well as abduction and extortion cases, while Jat was also earlier booked under the NDPS Act.Investigators said Joshi, who earlier ran a textile business in Surat, allegedly introduced Purohit to the city to sell MD. After incurring losses in the textile business, Joshi shifted to real estate broking and allegedly accommodated Purohit at his residence to facilitate the drug trade."The accused had earlier delivered a consignment to wanted accused Amit Kaaba, who is also linked to the textile business. Joshi introduced Kaaba to Jat and Purohit. Jat allegedly sourced the MD from wanted accused Rajesh Patidar and Kanwar Pal Singh, both residents of Jhalawar in Rajasthan. We are investigating whether the drug was being manufactured in Jhalawar," an officer said.Police suspect the MD was supplied in small quantities to several individuals working in the textile industry.Sources said Jat earlier owned a restaurant in Luni in Rajasthan but suffered business losses. The three accused were arrested on Wednesday and are scheduled to be produced before a court on Thursday.