Delhi plagued by 64 drug hot spots, says task force

The 64 hot spots were identified based on on-the-ground information collected by ANTF officials.

Jama Masjid, Chhatarpur, Nizamuddin and Majnu Ka Tila have emerged as some of the “hot spots” for the peddling of narcotic substances, according to an internal survey carried out by the anti-narcotics task force (ANTF) of the Delhi Police in March, senior officers who were part of the assessment said on Sunday, adding that they have identified 64 such hot spots across the national capital.

The survey has also revealed that heroin and cannabis are the most common narcotic substances that are peddled in and around the Capital. (Representational Image)

The 64 hot spots were identified based on on-the-ground information collected by ANTF officials, and the recent trends in seizure of contraband and the arrest of people involved in the supply and sale of drugs in the city.

The survey has also revealed that heroin and cannabis are the most common narcotic substances that are peddled in and around the Capital, assistant commissioners of police (ANTF) Anil Sharma said.

In May 2021, a similar survey by the anti-narcotics wing of the crime branch, which was then called the narcotics cell, had led to the identification of 15 hot spots for drugs peddling, based on the trend of seizures of the contraband and the arrest of peddlers.

Two years on, the number has gone up to 64, with three spots — Paharganj, Hauz Khas Village and Khanpur — dropping out of the list, but the remaining 12 places being joined by another 52, said one ANTF officer.

The DU north campus, which is one of spots on the new list, sees narcotic substances being supplied by peddlers based in Delhi and having roots in other states, including Meghalaya, the officer said. The buyers are mostly students living around the campus, with heroin and cannabis the most common drugs in demand in this area, the officer said.

Chhatarpur, Mohan Garden, Nawada and Uttam Nagar in south and west Delhi have been identified as four places where cocaine and synthetic drug MDMA, also referred to as ecstasy or molly, are sold.

“In these four places, we mostly found foreigners… living in rented accommodations and some of them involved in drug peddling. There have been regular efforts in these areas to identify foreigners living illegally and deport them accordingly,” said a second ANTF official, declining to be named.

Revamp of anti-narcotics cell

Last year, the Delhi Police revamped their anti-narcotics cell, renaming it the anti-narcotics task force (ANTF). The objective of this new force is to keep a vigil on smuggling, the supply and sale of narcotics drugs, and to take action against peddlers active across the city.

The manpower of the cell was also increased from 60 to 90, giving it ample strength to carry out operations against drug peddling and peddlers not only within the city, but to also neutralize networks fanning across other states.

Special Commissioner of Police (Crime) Ravindra Yadav said that the objective of the ANTF is to take concerted and coordinated action against narcotics drugs and people involved in smuggling, supply and sale of contrabands across Delhi, and even outside.

“In the meetings chaired by Union home minister Amit Shah, a ‘zero tolerance’ approach against narcotics traffickers has been repeatedly emphasised to eradicate the menace of drugs in the country. Everyone has to chip in to win the war against drugs. Apart from the ANTF, which is the nodal agency, all police districts and police stations have to work in tandem and synchronise their efforts while going full steam against drug peddlers and suppliers. It’s a result of the combined and continuous actions of all Delhi Police teams that the cases and arrests under The Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act have doubled in 2022 from 2021,” Yadav said.

Presently, the ANTF is led by two ACPs including Sharma, and five inspectors while earlier it had only one ACP and two inspectors, a senior crime branch officer said.

“Earlier, the anti-narcotics cell focused mainly on local drug peddlers active across Delhi. But after the creation of the ANTF, the scope of operations has widened and now the officials not only arrest the local peddlers but also bust the entire chain or dealers and suppliers, who of late are caught from outside Delhi, sometimes from northeastern states,” the crime branch officer said.

ANTF’s operations

The ANTF is also focusing on people who carry out illegal activities like an organised syndicate, involving their family members and relatives, the officers said.

In one such operation carried out between November and December 2022, ANTF officials arrested five members of a family from east Delhi’s Sunder Nagri. According to the officials, the family was the prime source of the sale of heroin in local neighbourhoods, with the syndicate run by a mother-son duo named Bharti, 50, and Rocky alias Pradeep, 30. The other three were Rocky’s brothers-in-law, Aakash,26, Vikas,24, and Sunil alias Tinku,33, said one of the ACPs of ANTF, who is not authorised to speak with the media.

“The antecedents of the arrested family members were verified. It was found that Bharti was involved in bootlegging and drug peddling for nearly two decades, and her first arrest happened in 2003. We have found at least six more members of Bharti’s family involved in the illegal activities. They could not be arrested as no seizure of drugs was made from them. However, a constant vigil is kept on them and their activities,” the ACP said.

Another ANTF officer associated with the operation said the family used to run a heroin processing and packaging unit at their home, and had employed some local men to package and sell the product. The officer explained that the gang procured 200-300 grams of fine quality heroin every day and mixed powder-cut chemicals — mostly powders of anti-anxiety pills — to double the weight.

“Six small packets were prepared out of one gram of the processed contraband. Each packet was sold at a rate ranging between ₹300 and ₹350. The gang earned nearly ₹8 lakh by selling 1 kg of the contraband. The gang’s local network has been neutralized. We are now working on the main source through which fine quality heroin reached them. The key players are based outside Delhi. We have identified some of them,” added the officer.

Similarly, another such operation in east Delhi’s Nand Nagri was carried out in February-March this year, when the ANTF officials arrested a key drug peddler of the area, identified as Rinku Tomar, and his supplier Rahul aka Kaku, whose interrogation revealed that he was getting his supply of heroin from a drug dealer in north Delhi. The dealer has been identified and the police are looking for him, as he absconded soon after Tomar and Kaku were arrested, the officials said.

“The action against the family involved in drug peddling and Tomar’s group has had a demonstrated impact as the sale of drugs in Nand Nagri’s neighbourhoods has gone down significantly. We are hoping that by carrying out regular action against drug peddlers, Nand Nagri may not appear again as a drug peddling ‘hot spot’ in the next survey,” an inspector from the ANTF said.