Online narco business busted by ATS in Vastrapur; three held

The Gujarat Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) on Monday said that it has arrested three men from a flat in Vastrapur for selling narcotics and psychotropic substances through an e-commerce website for about one-and-a-half-years.

The accused sent the drugs in boxes used by a leading e-commerce company and used VoIP and encrypted text messages to cover their tracks, an ATS officer said.

The accused procured the narcotics from outside Gujarat and have so far supplied them to various parts of the state, including Surat and Vadodara, the officer said.

Vinjhava had assigned the financial dealings to his close aide Nanji Ramji Vagh alias Karan, 28, from Amreli.

After Sama and Shirman told police that the racket was being run by Vinjhava, an ATS team reached Rajula town in Amreli and arrested him from his residence early on Monday morning.

Charas was acquired from Himachal Pradesh, ganja from Madhya Pradesh, and hybrid cannabis and other psychotropic substances from Mumbai.

To dodge the authorities and to make their e-commerce venture appear legitimate, the accused despatched the drugs in boxes used by an e-commerce giant, ATS officers said.

The three accused have been booked under the relevant sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act. Vagh is on the run at present, said police officers.

It has now emerged that Vinjhava also used to sell adulterated cow ghee.

He had signed a rent agreement with the flat owner in the name of his ex-employee who worked for him in the ghee business.cr