Jaipur, June 2 (IANS) Operating under a strict “zero-tolerance” policy against narcotics trafficking, the Baran Police have dealt a massive financial blow to the region’s drug mafia. Under the banner of ‘Operation Vajra Prahar,’ authorities have permanently frozen movable and immovable assets, alongside banking channels, totaling Rs 3.92 crore belonging to notorious drug smuggler Biramchand Lodha and his family.
The action was executed under Section 68F of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act.
Superintendent of Police (SP), Abhishek Andasu, stated that the operation was specifically engineered to check narcotics trafficking by dismantling its financial foundations.
“The campaign’s goal is not limited merely to the arrest of smugglers. It aims to completely dismantle the financial empires they have built using their illicit earnings. Financial action is proving to be our most effective weapon in eradicating the drug trade from its roots,” SP Andasu emphasised.
Police investigations revealed that Biramchand Lodha, a resident of Dokri Khoh within the Sarthal police station jurisdiction had systematically laundered his drug money by investing in assets under the names of his wife, Phoolabai, his brother, Rahul Lodha, and his sister-in-law, Bhavna.
The frozen wealth is split into physical property and unexplained financial velocity which includes property worth Rs 1,60,26,526 — two luxury houses, five land plots, two cars (a Maruti and an Eeco), and one motorcycle and unexplained bank transactions worth Rs 2,32,54,585.
A deep-dive audit into the family’s bank accounts revealed suspicious, high-volume transactions over just the past year with zero legitimate sources of income.
Biramchand Lodha is a repeat offender with a heavy criminal footprint, facing three serious cases under the NDPS Act, including one involving a commercial quantity of narcotics.
Prior to this economic strike, law enforcement had already seized 250 kilograms of Doda Chura (crushed opium pods), carrying an international market value of approximately Rs 10 lakh and a Maruti Baleno (valued at Rs 8 lakh) used actively in his smuggling operations.
The high-stakes operation was pulled off by a specialized joint task force comprising the SP Office and the Sarthal Police Station.
–IANS
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