As Gujarat intensifies its war on drugs, a disturbing pattern is beginning to surface — warehouses stocked with opioid-based substances are increasingly being found near educational institutions. The discovery points to a growing infiltration of narcotics into student communities, raising concerns over how drug networks are targeting youth.
Now, in a campaign against drugs, especially following the deadly car accident in Vadodara’s Karelibaug area where a 21-year-old law student, Rakshit Chaurasiya, crashed his vehicle into eight individuals, resulting in one death — reportedly while under the influence of marijuana — Gujarat police have identified a pattern: warehouses storing opioids close to learning centres.
The incident occurred on March 13. Later that month, the Vadodara city Special Operations Group (SOG) confiscated 4,785 bottles of cough syrup with codeine, valued at Rs 10.97 lakh, along with more than 1.5 lakh opioid analgesics like Tramadol Hydrochloride, worth Rs 15.5 lakh. A trend of hybrid ganja, called the drug of the rich, has also been noticed. It is priced around the same range as MD drugs — its full chemical name is 4-methylmethcathinone — with a gram costing about Rs 3,000, according to a report published by a national daily.
Depending on the peddler’s popularity, a single dose of less than 1 mg of MD can cost anywhere from Rs 3,000 to Rs 7,000, according to a top Gujarat police officer.
The substantial haul was taken from a rented warehouse in Waghodia, which is becoming a growing education hub. The individual arrested, who operates a medical store in the city, was reportedly implicated in the illegal distribution of prohibited prescription drugs and charged with possessing them.
Vadodara Commissioner of Police Narasimha Komar expressed concern over the location of the warehouse where the codeine syrup was seized, noting that it was situated in Waghodia, an area known for being an education hub. Speaking to the daily, he pointed out that Vadodara hosts a significant number of young students from other cities and countries, which makes it even more crucial for law enforcement to crack down on drug peddlers. Komar said the police have been proactively identifying suspects and seizing contraband as part of ongoing efforts.
He further revealed that the investigation had shown several history sheeters and young individuals—often those preparing to commit crimes such as house break-ins—were found to be consuming narcotic analgesics obtained from these dealers. According to him, these substances were used to dull pain in the event of injuries or counter-attacks during the commission of crimes.
Jayrajsinh Vala, Deputy Commissioner of Police, SOG, Ahmedabad, observed that codeine addiction had sharply increased in recent years. He claims that young people from low-income families who are looking for reasonably priced intoxicants were the main users of the drug. Codeine is generally less expensive than other narcotics, and because its effects are different from those of alcohol, users can evade prosecution under the Prohibition rule. According to Vala, a sizable portion of autorickshaw drivers are codeine addicts.
Vala also observed a trend among youngsters from affluent families, who tended to use MD drugs due to their ability to afford higher prices set by peddlers. Over time, many of these users reportedly transitioned into peddlers themselves to finance their addictions. By selling small doses within their networks, they often managed to cover the cost of their own drug use, effectively making their consumption financially self-sustaining.
The Vadodara city Special Operations Group arrested 38 people in 18 instances in 2024 and seized drugs totalling over Rs 1 crore, including Rs 22.02 lakh worth of hybrid ganja (hydroponic weed) and more than Rs 61 lakh worth of mephedrone. Comparing this statistic to other years, it has been rising. Mephedrone accounted for Rs 56.32 lakh of the Rs 74.25 lakh in drug seizures that resulted from the arrest of 55 people in 34 incidents in 2023. The Vadodara city SOG seized drugs worth Rs 41.26 lakh in 2022, recorded 20 cases, detained 39 people, and confiscated the most drugs, worth Rs 36 lakh.
Vala was quoted as saying, “It begins with someone in the network introducing an individual to the drug. For the first three or four times, the youngster is given free shots of the drug by the initiator. The idea is to get the youth addicted. Thereafter, they demand a price for the dose. As the addiction becomes deeper, they suggest that the youngster could peddle the drugs to ten persons and recover the cost of his own addiction. They operate in an entire network where the aim is to get as many people as possible addicted and create a chain to keep up the demand for the drugs.”
