Sohagpur police arrested 28-year-old Dharmendra Soni, also called Goli or Mausi, at Pathariya Tola in Sohagpur in Shahdol district.[1] Police described Soni, the son of Suresh Soni, as an alleged dealer in intoxicating substances.[1] The team acted after an informant said a young man was standing on the road in front of his house in Pathariya Tola, Ward No. 2, selling intoxicating tablets.[1] Officers reached the spot, cordoned it off, detained the suspect and found intoxicating tablets on him during a personal search.[1]

Police then questioned him and searched his house, finding a stockpile of tablets in one room.[1] Police said they seized a total of 1,548 intoxicating tablets and 270 grams of ganja, the local term for cannabis, in the house search.[1] Police put the market value of all the seized intoxicants together at more than 200,000 rupees.[1]

The operation was part of continuing police action against the illegal drug trade in Shahdol district.[1] Sohagpur station in-charge Sanjay Jaiswal said action to curb the illegal trade would continue.[1] Assistant Sub-Inspector Bhagchand and other police officers and staff were credited with a key role in the operation.[1] Police said they are now investigating where the large quantity of tablets came from and whether others were involved in the trade.[1]