Bhopal Crime Branch has busted an inter-state methylenedioxy (MD) drug syndicate and arrested three accused, seizing contraband and assets valued at nearly Rs 50 lakh. The investigation has revealed a supply chain linked to Rajasthan.
Acting on an intelligence tip-off, the crime branch set up a trap near Idgah Hills in Shahjehanabad late Friday (September 19) night. The information revealed that two men on a black Yamaha FZ motorcycle were coming to conduct a drug negotiation near an under-construction structure. A team was sent to the location and took into custody two suspects who fit the description.
Afzal Khan (32), a native of Devki Nagar in Nishatpura, and Kifayatullah Khan (51), a native of Agar Malwa district, were arrested. The duo was searched, and 22.45 grams of MD powder was recovered from Afzal and 31.21 grams from Kifayatullah, respectively, along with two mobile phones, an Alto car, an electronic weighing machine, and the motorcycle used in the transaction. The total seizure was worth around Rs.40 lakh.
Third accomplice arrested, network tied to Rajasthan
Afzal, under interrogation, has claimed to have bought drugs many times from his friend Arbaaz. Once Arbaaz had been jailed, he approached his father-in-law, Kifayatullah, to get 22 grams of MD powder. Kifayatullah admitted that he had brought 56.96 grams of MD from Rajasthan and had provided part of it to Afzal and another friend, Manzoor.
Following this lead, police arrested Manzoor Khan (37), a Rapido driver from Shahjehanabad, near Babe Ali Ground. He was found in possession of 3.30 grams of MD powder, a OnePlus mobile phone, and a bicycle. Police believe Manzoor was using his profession as a cover for peddling drugs in the city.
Organised supply chain and digital trail
Investigators disclosed that Kifayatullah had bought the drugs from Rajasthan-based dealer Imran alias Tika Lala using online payment transfers, it is alleged. He was in contact with former clients of his imprisoned son-in-law Arbaaz and had travelled to Bhopal to drop off the consignment.
Officials stated police teams are currently scrutinising the call detail records (CDRs) and online payment records of the SIM phones confiscated to determine other members of the network. “Each bust connects us with fresh links of the chain,” Additional DCP Chouhan said, adding that investigators are aiming to chart the entire inter-state nexus.
NDPS Act cases registered
All three suspects have been charged under Sections 8/22 and 29 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act. They were produced in front of a local court and remanded to judicial custody.
The Bhopal Crime Branch has been increasing operations over the last few months in an attempt to stem the growing menace of synthetic drugs in the city. The police officials have appealed to the people to be cautious and inform them of anything suspicious, threatening that MD and other synthetic drugs are increasingly spreading among the youth.
With the arrest of close to 57 grams of MD in this operation, officials feel that they have dealt a huge blow to an organised network that was most actively attempting to increase its influence in the city.
Financial trail traced by investigators
Police officials disclosed that Kifayatullah’s cell phone held a digital payment history of buying and selling MD powder, indicating an expanding online nexus of narcotics trafficking. The payments had been made to Tika Lala alias Imran of Gram Dudhalia in Rajasthan from whom Kifayatullah had procured the 56.96 grams of MD.
The investigators believe that this consignment was to be delivered to several local peddlers in Bhopal, and payments to be made after selling the drugs. Officials said that further arrests are likely as the financial trail and call detail records are analysed, indicating that the syndicate may have more active members operating in Madhya Pradesh and neighbouring states.
Why now?
Another disturbing pattern of the case is linked to the ongoing festive season. With Navratri and Garba pandals drawing large gatherings, activists pointed to how such drug networks are often exploited by Islamist gangs that deliberately infiltrate Hindu cultural spaces.
According to the activists, young men assume false Hindu identities to enter Garba venues, where unsuspecting women are befriended and, in some instances, lured with spiked drinks or narcotics like MD powder. The activists have warned that this tactic is not just about petty drug peddling but part of a larger, organised attempt to compromise women, facilitate exploitation, and deepen the narcotics trade under the garb of social mingling.
The Bhopal arrests, activists say, have once again exposed how drug syndicates overlap with predatory activities targeting Hindu youth, and why monitoring such spaces during festivals has become a pressing law-and-order priority.
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