SANCHORE (JALORE), Aug. 1 — Police in Sanchore arrested two men in separate operations on July 31, seizing 11.74 grams of mephedrone (MD) and 0.73 grams of smack and registering two cases under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, the Jalore Superintendent of Police's office said.

The arrests come amid a sustained anti-narcotics drive across the Jodhpur police range, under which district units have been directed to act against drug trafficking, illicit liquor, and wanted offenders. Sanchore, a border tehsil in Jalore district close to Gujarat, has featured repeatedly in recent narcotics enforcement in Rajasthan.

First case

According to the police note, a team from the Sanchore police station, acting on a tip-off, intercepted a man near Kalupura and recovered 0.73 grams of smack. Police identified him as Hanuman, son of Kishanaram, 33, a resident of Sankad. A motorcycle allegedly used to transport the drug was seized. He was booked under Section 8/21 of the NDPS Act in case number 355, registered on July 31, and an investigation was begun, police said.

Second case

In a second operation the same day, the station's team acted on information near Sankad and arrested Shyamlal, son of Sablaram, 29, a resident of Lachhiwad (Surawa), police said. Officers recovered 11.74 grams of mephedrone. He was booked under Section 8/22 of the NDPS Act in case number 356, registered on August 1, according to the note. The two cases were registered separately, and investigations in both were continuing, police said.

Sanchore in the enforcement spotlight

The Sanchore area has drawn repeated attention from anti-narcotics agencies. In February, the Narcotics Control Bureau's Jodhpur unit, working with the Anti-Narcotics Task Force, Rajasthan, and the Jalore Police, said it had dismantled a mephedrone-manufacturing laboratory in Sanchore and seized about 4.9 kilograms of the synthetic drug under an operation it called PRAYOGSHALA. Separately, a mephedrone consignment seized in Ahmedabad this year was traced by Gujarat police to a supplier from the Sanchore area, according to official statements reported at the time.

What the police said

The action was carried out under the supervision of senior district officers, including the Additional Superintendent of Police, Sanchore, and the Deputy Superintendent of Police, Sanchore, with the district Superintendent of Police directing the wider campaign, the note said. Police named the station house officer and the team involved in both operations.

The accused have not been convicted, and both cases remain under investigation. Police said enforcement against drug trafficking in the region would continue.