Illegal drug trade scales new
heights
Contraband Worth More Than Rs
4 Cr Was Seized In 2009, But Drugs Like Ecstasy & LSD Continue
To Escape The Police Net
The Anti Narcotics Cell (ANC)
of the Mumbai police seized contraband worth Rs 4.78 crore in
2009, a jump of almost 125% from 2007-08.
Going by data compiled by the Mumbai police, Hashish or
charas continues to be the most popular drug; the police seized
a little more than 434 kg of hashish worth Rs 3.16 crore between
January and November 2009. During the same period in 2008, only
Rs 81.76 lakh worth of this contraband was confiscated by the
authorities.
The second highest illegally traded drug in Mumbai according
to police figures is heroin. ANC officials intercepted half a
dozen consignments in the city last year and seized heroin worth
Rs 92.21 lakh.
Another popular drug, marijuana (ganja), continues to see a
growing, albeit illegal trade. While marijuana worth Rs 4.89
lakh was seized in 2008, the figure stood at Rs 29.66 lakh in
2009.
Commenting on this sharp rise in drug busts in a span of one
year, DCP Sunil Paraskar (ANC) said, “We have been pro-active,
and studying the modus operandi of drug peddlers, due to which
we have been able to get precise information leading to seizures
and arrests.’’
The two main consignments of narcotics caught in 2009 were
that of heroin, allegedly carried by IPS officer Saji Mohan, and
charas, supplied by members of the notorious Abdul Thana gang,
said an officer.
The Mumbai police arrested a total of 269 persons for drug
pedalling and booked 2,689 persons for illegal consumption of
drugs in 2009.
And while the ANC can be credited for their efforts, sources
say that last year’s seizures account for only a small segment
of the narcotics circulating in the city. “In most of the major
consignments that has been recovered to date, the people
arrested are only the delivery boys. Despite all their efforts,
the police have not been able to access the higher links in the
drug chain and cut off supply,’’ said a police official on
condition of anonymity.
Also, marijuana, heroin and cannabis are not representative
of the nature of drug abuse in Mumbai. Cocaine, LSD, ecstasy,
and party drugs that cover a wide range of amphetamine-type
stimulants and ketamine are extremely popular but usually escape
detection.
In fact in 2009, officials intercepted only Rs.29.66 lakh
worth of cocaine, which is around 10 per cent less than the haul
in 2008. One such ‘haul’ took place in September 2009, when the
Air Intelligence Unit (AIU) detained a Nigerian lady at the
international airport in Mumbai for possession of cocaine. She
had swallowed 83 tablets containing cocaine. Explaining the
modus operandi, a police officer said, “The peddlers make small
tablets each filled with 10 gm of cocaine. They put it in a thin
plastic sheet and then wrap it with electric
(pressure-sensitive) tape so that does the tablets do not
dissolve in the stomach. The carrier then swallows around 80
such tablets before getting onto the flight.’’
In an attempt to curb the use of party drugs at rave
parties, ANC officials claim to have roped in college students
as informers.
An official from the ANC said, “After systematic crackdown
on the traditionally popular substances like brown sugar, ganja
and charas, we are now focusing on targeting peddlers of
psychotropic substances like LSD, Ecstasy and Methaqualone (a
sedativehypnotic drug similar in effect to barbiturates) that we
know are popular among revellers and circulated in rave parties
in and around the city.
He added: “Psychotropic substances are costlier than the
traditional drugs, which is why they have become a status symbol
among those who have the buying power. We suspect these drugs
are mainly consumed at discotheques and pubs between Bandra and
Oshiwara and some parts of south Mumbai. Private parties at
bungalows and resorts at Gorai, Madh and Manori are also under
the scanner.’’
MAJOR
Seizures
Jan 2009
IPS officer Saji Mohan was caught by the ATS with a
consignment of 12kg of heroin worth Rs 12 crore June 2009
The Narcotics Control Bureau arrested a suspended Punjab
police officer, Jagdish Singh, along with three accomplices for
possession of the popular party drug methamphetamine worth Rs 20
crore in the international market
Aug 2009
In two separate raids in August, the Anti-Narcotics Cell
claimed to have busted an inter-state drug racket with a seizure
of 100 kg of charas valued at Rs 8.24 crore
Nov 2009
Acting on a tip-off, the Anti Narcotics Cell found 1,240 kg
of ganja worth Rs 25 lakh in a truck. The stash had been hid in
gunny bags inside the cavity under the driver’s seat. On
interrogation, the accused revealed that they had delivered
another consignment of 1,800 kg of ganja around two months ago.
Investigations led the ANC to a hideout at Bhoisar in Thane,
where they seized 513 kg of the contraband
Dec 2009
A 70-year-old woman from Bandra was arrested for alleged
possession of 40 kg of ganja worth Rs 10 lakh
THE NIGERIAN CONNECTION
Mumbai: Every year, more and more Nigerian nationals are
being arrested in Mumbai for peddling drugs, said a senior
police official. According to police sources, they come to India
with the intention of getting involved in the lucrative drug
peddling trade. ``Once they land in Mumbai, they destroy their
passports so that they cannot be deported even when their visa
expires,” said the official, adding that they live in the
outskirts of the city and supply cocaine, charas and heroin to
patrons in pubs and discotheques in the western suburbs.
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