The fairer sex’s ugly crime racket

The Delhi Police may be on a gender sensitivity overdrive but if there's anyone who knows how to treat the fairer sex a tad more fairly, it's the proverbial bad guys.

The Delhi Police may be on a gender sensitivity overdrive but if there's anyone who knows how to treat the fairer sex a tad more fairly, it's the proverbial bad guys.

HT Image

The apprehension of a mother-daughter duo attempting to move a large amount of hashish to Mumbai via bus yesterday has strengthened the police's belief that traffickers are using the city’s inherent gender bias to their advantage.

"Drug trafficking in the city has predominantly been a male activity, with almost 90% of those apprehended being men. But a new and more disturbing trend is emerging," said a senior police officer from the Crime Branch that has already registered four cases under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act.

"Taking advantage of the gender bias, drug lords are increasingly recruiting and using women either accompanying them as shields or as short-distance couriers," the officer said.

Police identified the duo as Rashida Begum (45) and her daughter Naznin (20) who were apprehended by a narcotics team from northeast Delhi's Nand Nagri while boarding a bus to Mori Gate on Monday.

Rashida is from Mumbai and took to trafficking after her husband, a drug trafficker himself, divorced her and denied her any alimony.

"Rashida's husband Chand Qureshi recently divorced her, bringing her and Naznin on the streets. Then one of Qureshi's own friends lured the duo into the trade. Rashida readily accepted his offer to get back at her husband and decided to pull Naznin in with her," said the officer.

According to police, the burqa-clad mother-daughter duo had been assigned the task of moving 22 kg of fine 'Malana Cream' hashish via bus from Delhi to Udaipur, Udaipur to Ahmedabad and from Ahmedabad to Mumbai. They had men to assist them on each entry point in Delhi and Mumbai.