Indore: A major breakthrough has been recorded by the Indore Crime Branch in the ongoing crackdown on MD drug smuggling, arresting and remanding the absconded accused Santosh Giri who was in hiding for the past almost five months in the high-profile case.
Giri, residing at Arnod in the district of Pratapgarh in Rajasthan, was wanted for the seizure of 513.48 grams of MD drugs worth around ₹52 lakh in international market, police sources said. The case was opened based on the NDPS Act.
The operation is a part of increased policing efforts by Indore Police Commissionerate to crack down on drug trafficking and organised drug syndicates active in the city. Giri has been under technical surveillance and intelligence inputs and was later located and arrested.
The case went in the Police Branch on January 15, 2026, when the police officials while conducting a search in an area around Siddheshwar Jaldharnath Mahadev Temple arrested four suspects and recovered a substantial amount of MD drugs. Some believed to be suspects were caught during the operation but they tried to escape. But Giri somehow got off the nose and continued to evade arrest, until now.
In an initial query, allegedly, Giri confessed to buying MD medicines at cheaper rates and selling at higher rates to those who were drug addicts and consumers in the city of Indore and earning money through it illegally. It is believed he could be connected to an extensive drug distribution operation involving several states.
The police have already picked up four more accused in the case, including citizens of Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. Police are now turning to tracking down suppliers, trafficking trails and other Associates of the gang.
The amount of the MD drugs found would only have been made available to Indore through a well organised network, the authorities say. Additional questioning continues and the police has said that further arrests would be made as the investigation proceeds.