Ahmedabad: An Ahmedabad man who slipped out of a Kathmandu jail during violent protests and vanished across the Indo-Nepal border was tracked down months later. The special operations group (SOG) of the city police arrested Dharmesh Chunara, 33, wanted in a Rs 13 crore narcotics case registered in Nepal, bringing to light his journey from local bootlegging to international drug trafficking.The arrest of Chunara by the SOG closed a loop that began in the narrow lanes of Hirwadi and ran through Nepal’s drug networks, a Bangkok flight, and a prison break in Kathmandu.Police said Chunara, a resident of Thakkarbapanagar, was earlier involved in petty businesses in the city, including illicit liquor trade in the Hirwadi area. Facing police pressure and seeking higher returns, he left Ahmedabad for Nepal in July 2025, both to earn more and to stay off the local police radar.In Nepal, investigators said, Chunara came into contact with gangs involved in narcotics trafficking. He was soon assigned the role of a courier, ferrying hybrid ganja from Thailand to Nepal. Sources said he was paid around Rs 2 lakh per trip for the job.His run ended during one such assignment. In July 2025, Nepal police intercepted him at Kathmandu airport after he landed from Bangkok on Thai Airways flight TG319. Officials seized 13kg of hybrid ganja, valued at around Rs 13 crore, and booked him under Nepal’s narcotics laws. He was produced before a court and lodged in Bhadra Central Jail, Kathmandu.Chunara remained behind bars until Sep 2025, when large-scale Gen Z protests erupted across Nepal. During the unrest, protesters vandalised the Kathmandu jail, triggering a security breach. Several inmates fled in the chaos, including foreign nationals. Chunara was among those who escaped.Following the jailbreak, Nepal authorities shared details of the escaped prisoners with Indian agencies. Alerts were circulated by the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB), and CID crime, Gandhinagar, asked state police units to trace Indian fugitives.The trail led to Ahmedabad, but not without hurdles. PSI J B Desai of SOG, who led the operation, said the name itself posed the first challenge. “When I opened the case, I found at least 67 persons with the same name. We narrowed it down to 16-17 and began discreet checks,” an officer said.Surveillance led to cops zero in on Chunara, who returned to the city via the Indo-Nepal border in Uttar Pradesh soon after the jailbreak. He was living with his mother-in-law, who was earlier arrested in a prohibition case, police said.SOG teams kept watch before picking him up on Monday. During questioning, Chunara admitted to escaping from the Kathmandu jail during the protests and slipping back into India to avoid detection.Police said they will complete legal formalities and coordinate with central agencies and Nepal authorities for his handover.
