A 33-year-old former commercial pilot from Kozhikode in Kerala has been arrested in Gurugram after police seized 814 grams of MDMA, valued at ₹35 lakh in the international market, from his possession. The suspect, identified as Arshad Ali, also known as Aju, was apprehended from his apartment at Landmark Society in Daulatabad by the Sector 39 Crime Branch of the Gurugram Police.

Ali, a resident of West Hill in Kozhikode, has been booked under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act at the Rajendra Park police station. Investigators revealed that the suspect previously worked as a pilot with a prominent private airline but is currently unemployed.

Initial interrogation has revealed that Ali procured the synthetic drug from Noida for an upfront payment of ₹5 lakh. Under the agreement with his supplier, the remaining amount was to be paid after the successful distribution and sale of the contraband to buyers. Police sources indicated that Ali initially started buying MDMA for his own consumption. However, after realising the massive financial gains involved in the illicit trade, he transitioned into commercial drug peddling. The Gurugram Police are currently interrogating Ali to identify his associates and crack down on the wider supply network active in the National Capital Region.