Gujarat Police Seize Assets Worth Rs 22 Lakh Belonging to Jailed Drug Peddler

Police have seized assets worth over Rs 22 lakh belonging to a jailed drug peddler in Gujarat ’s Kutch district under the Smugglers and Foreign Exchange Manipulators (Forfeiture of Property) Act, 1976 (SAFEMA). Originally a native of Bihar, the drug peddler, Pintu Yadav, has been living in the border district for the last one decade. The Kutch East police on Thursday said they have seized a house measuring 54.33 square metres located in Varshamedi village of Anjar taluka in the name of Ushadevi, wife of Pintu Yadav, resident of Bhagalpur, Bihar, valued at Rs15 lakh; a car worth Rs 6.25 lakh and two 2-wheelers worth over 1 lakh.” Yadav has four cases pending against him under Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act. Yadav is currently in judicial custody at Galpadar district Jail in Gandhidham. Officers said the seizure came pursuant to an order of forfeiture by the competent authority under the SAFEMA/NPDSA in Mumbai , which accepted the proposal of the Kutch East Police after hearing both sides and held that the properties had been purchased using the alleged proceeds of crime . After Yadav’s latest case, filed at Gandhidham B Division police station on February 25, 2025, when 140.600 kg of ganja worth Rs 14 lakh was seized from him, the police began working on the potential seizure of his properties under Section 68(H) of the NDPS Act. Speaking to The Indian Express, Kutch East SP Sagar Bagmar said, “Pintu Yadav is a native of Bihar but has been living in Kutch for more than a decade. The house that we have seized was purchased in his wife’s name in 2017. The four FIRs against him were of ganja possession and the last one was of commercial quantity. He is a history-sheeter with no known other sources of income. To make our case before the competent authority, we analysed his bank account statements as well as his Income Tax returns.” Asked why they had initiated property forfeiture proceedings against only this NDPS accused, considering there has not been such a case in Gujarat for several years, SP Bagmar said, “There may be NDPS cases bigger than this one, but here we were able to establish that the properties were brought using the proceeds of crime.” The proposal was sent to the authority on January 20, 2026, hearings were held in April and July, following which, the order for seizure was issued on August 3, 2026, under sections 68-I and 68-U of the NDPS Act. Under sections 68I and 68U of the NDPS Act, if any drug peddler has acquired movable or immovable properties using income generated from illegal narcotics trade, police are empowered to take action against such assets, including their forfeiture. “The owner was given an opportunity as per the rules to prove that his property was acquired through legal means. During both the hearings, the owner has failed to prove that the property was acquired through legal means,” said a police statement. Police officials said that the accused may get 45 more days to produce evidence to prove that the seized properties were purchased using legal sources of income. The first NPDS case against Yadav in the state was registered on June 23, 2019, when 1.460 kg ganja worth Rs 8,760 was seized from him. This was followed by another case at the same police station on the same day when they seized 1.572 kg ganja worth Rs 9,432. On October 30, 2020, the CID Crime approved Yadav’s arrest under NDPS Act, and he was lodged at Junagadh Jail. On May 13, 2022, Anjar police booked Yadav for possession of 3.538 kg of ganja worth Rs 35,380. Gandhidham B Division police booked him on February 25, 2025, when they seized 140.600 kg of ganja worth over Rs 14 lakh from him.