E-Paper
29 cases registered under NDPS Act in Chandigarh in 4 months, 30 held
Chandigarh Police arrested 191 with drugs last year; Punjab-based gangsters and several Nigerians residing in Delhi comprise the heroin syndicate
The city police have registered 29 FIRs and arrested 30 accused under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act in the first quarter of 2023 at various police stations across Chandigarh.
With these arrests, the police have so far recovered 845-gm heroin, 2-kg ganja (marijuana), 2.5-kg charas, 170-kg poppy husk, 15 strips of Alprasafe tablets and 105 bottles of cough syrup.
However, the Chandigarh Police had arrested a total of 191 persons with drugs, including 104 with heroin, last year.
In 2022, police had recovered 600-gram heroin, 95-kg ganja, 13-kg charas, 232-kg poppy husk, 8-kg opium along with a total of 797 injections and 1,830 banned capsules.
Most commonly used drugs in city
As per a recent report by the Chandigarh Police, heroin, charas, ganja, opium, poppy husk and amphetamine (ice) are the most common drugs used in the UT.
Routes, modus operandi and syndicates
As per the report, ganja is mainly sourced in Chandigarh from the border areas of Odisha, Andhra Pradesh and Bihar. It is mostly traded in trucks, trains and in personal vehicles. The syndicate working behind its supply includes people of Odisha-Andhra border who are cultivating marijuana in the forests in association with Naxalite groups.
As per the report, heroin is mainly sourced from Delhi-based foreigners residing in Dwarka, Uttam Nagar and Nawada. It is also sourced in Chandigarh from the border areas of Punjab, including Amritsar, Ferozepur and Tarn Taran. “It is smuggled in small packets and is easy to hide. Heroin is a costly drug. Initially, peddlers lure their target first by giving them the drugs for free to get them addicted after which they start charging money. This process is called planting new seeds,” an officer said. Punjab-based gangsters and several Nigerians residing in Delhi comprise the heroin syndicate.
The source of charas is mainly from Nepal and areas of Himachal Pradesh, including Kullu, Manali, Manikaran and Chamba. High quality charas is cultivated in Kullu, Manali and Chamba. “When the peddlers are out of stock, they demand and purchase it from their sources in Nepal,” the report highlighted.
Charas is mostly transported in private vehicles, AC buses and vehicles carrying vegetable in mandis. A few Himachal students also sell charas to fellow students. Revealing the syndicate, the report highlighted that those who are cultivating charas in Himachal along with Nepali peddlers and labourers, who prepare charas from plants, run the nexus.
Opium is mainly sourced from Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Guwahati and it is mostly traded in buses, trucks and personal vehicles. A syndicate of opium farmers and a few people running dhabas or motels on highways handles its supply.
Poppy husk is mainly sourced here from border areas of Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh and is traded in buses, trucks and personal vehicles.
As per the report, the Chandigarh police disposed of drugs worth ₹500 crore last year.
Awareness programmes
The drug awareness team conducted a total of 78 programmes in colonies, slums, schools, colleges and other institutes in 2022 and 2023 till date.
On April 5, 2023, Punjab governor and UT administrator Banwarilal Purohit flagged off Nasha Mukti Express bus. Other than creating awareness among the general public, drug awareness programmes are regularly held at Model Jail, Chandigarh.
