Delhi Police on Tuesday said that it cracked down on those involved in the trade of narcotics, carrying out 182 raids at 64 drug hot spots across the Capital and arresting 64 suspects.
The raids, conducted largely against street-level drug traffickers between Monday and Tuesday, led to the recovery of around 30kg marijuana, 345g smack, and 140g amphetamine, said officials. (AFP)
The raids, conducted largely against street-level drug traffickers between Monday and Tuesday, led to the recovery of around 30kg marijuana, 345g smack, and 140g amphetamine, said Ravindra Yadav, special commissioner of police (crime branch). Over 1,200 police personnel from across Delhi were involved in the operations, the officers said.
These raids were carried out as part of a fortnight-long campaign to mark the International Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking Day on June 26. Yadav said the campaign will end on June 26, when the seized drugs will be destroyed.
This was just the latest crackdown on narcotic syndicates operating in the Capital — lieutenant governor VK Saxena in April had asked Delhi Police and other concerned agencies to seal properties and buildings being used to peddle drugs, and to explore legal ways to take demolition action against them.
“A list of properties from which the drug traffickers operate is being shared with the Municipal Corporation of Delhi for further necessary action in this regard,” said Yadav.
In March, an internal survey carried out by the anti-narcotics task force (ANTF) of the Delhi Police led to the identification of 64 hot spots across the Capital for the peddling of narcotics, which included neighbourhoods such as Jama Masjid, Chhatarpur, Nizamuddin and Majnu Ka Tila.
The survey had 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.
The number of hot spots in the March survey was a substantial increase from the 15 such hot spots found in a similar survey conducted in May 2021 by the anti-narcotics wing of the crime branch, which was then called the narcotics cell, based on the trend of seizures of the contraband and the arrest of peddlers.
Last week, the office of the lieutenant governor had ordered the sealing of 25 buildings where suspects were found to be trafficking drugs.
“Following a crackdown by Delhi Police against drug mafia in the city, 25 properties across Delhi were identified that were used for peddling either through the property owners or other occupants. Subsequently, the properties were sealed by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) on recommendation of the Delhi Police,” said an officer of the LG secretariat, asking not to be named.
Earlier, on May 13, a joint operation of crime branch and district units of Delhi Police — Operation Kawach — was launched across the national capital to tackle the menace of drug abuse. On that day too, more than 100 locations had been raided across Delhi, and 31 drug traffickers and 12 bootleggers were arrested.
The latest coordinated raids carried out at 64 alleged drug hotspots, which include neighbourhoods like Jahangirpuri, Sangam Vihar, Jama Masjid, Majnu Ka Tila, Shahbad Dairy and Uttam Nagar.
“Simultaneous raids were carried out at these potential targets. We went after the traffickers and raided their hideouts to seize the large quantities of narcotics substances. The raids were carried out after identifying the street players. Our aim is to go after the big players by interrogating the peddlers,” said a senior police officer involved in the raids.
Yadav, meanwhile, said, “Our raids have revealed that the drug traffickers are on the run and trying to shift their bases out of Delhi.”
On Monday, the Delhi Police had signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Xavier School of Management (XLRI), Jamshedpur to carry out a survey to identify the source and supply points of drugs in the Capital and prepare an action plan to deal with the issue, officers aware of the development said, adding that they also plan to start an awareness campaign against the use of narcotics.
XLRI’s nodal officer Sanjeev Varshney said, “We’ll do a ground survey and prepare the content as per the issues identified for different groups. XLRI will also provide input for the media campaign and suggest improvements for CSR opportunities to run the campaign.”
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.
E-Paper
