JOIN USPolice step up vigil to combat drug trafficking in city
With Christmas and New Year round the corner, Delhi Police have geared up to restrict the entry of banned drugs which come through various borders of the city adjoining nearby states of Uttar Pradesh and Haryana.
On December 3, a drug consignment worth Rs 7 crore in the international market was seized by police in outer Delhi.
The consignment comprising a kilogram of alprazolam, an anti-depressant, 6.4 kilogram heroin and around two kilogram opium was being transported from Punjab by a group of nine men from Nigeria, Afghanistan and Punjab.
“We are aware about the heightened attempts of traffickers to push drugs into Delhi. We are conducting raids in suspected places and have apprehended several people regarding the matter,” said a Delhi Police officer.
Police said a total of 133.38 kilo heroin was recovered in the previous year, making it the highest haul in the last eight years.
Apart from that, a total of 319 drug-related cases were reported and 392 persons were arrested in 2014.
Police said they recovered more than 1,200 stamps of Lysergic Acid Diethylamide (LSD) in the capital in 2014 which was worth Rs 8 crore in the international market
It is the second-highest recovery in the history of Delhi Police and the Narcotics Control Bureau, and is also one of the biggest in the country.
Role of women and foreigners is significant.
“Twenty per cent of those involved in drug trafficking are women and a lot of foreigners are part of it, especially the Nigerians which comprise 95 per cent of the people who were caught smuggling cocaine into India. Cocaine is mainly produced in Latin American countries from where it comes to India via Nigeria,” said a police officer posted in the Narcotics and Crime Prevention cell of Delhi Police.
“Drug addiction is a social evil as it leads to other criminal activities like rape, prostitution, theft and disintegration of families. Also, the money earned through selling drugs is used in anti-national activities,” he added.
Rave parties and discotheques are infamous for the use of drugs by the people under the garb of recreation. Delhi Police will have a strict vigil among these places to not allow the use of drugs.
“Marijuana, coke and MDMA, popularly known as ‘ecstasy’ are known to be party drugs. Marijuana which comes mainly from Odisha and Tamil Nadu is used at the beginning of a party, while as the party heats up, coke, ecstasy and heroin are consumed by the users,” the officer said.
“Recently, Meow Meow, another name for mephedrone was high in demand in the city. Mephedrone’s after effects are similar to cocaine but it is much cheaper than the latter and easier to obtain. We have presence of our people at places where we think the chances of drug use are more,” he added.