Cops seize brown sugar worth ₹80 lakh from a slum in Sector 66

The police on Sunday late night busted a gang of drug smugglers and arrested a 24-year-old man from the Sector 66 slum area. The police also recovered 680 grams

The police on Sunday late night busted a gang of drug smugglers and arrested a 24-year-old man from the Sector 66 slum area. The police also recovered 680 grams of brown sugar, worth ₹80 lakh, from his possession, said the police.

HT Image

The suspect was identified as Dilshad Sheikh, a native of Nadia in West Bengal, who had been living in Gurugram for the past two years. The police said he had been residing in the city for the last 10 years.

Acting on a tip-off, the Sector 10 crime investigation agency (CIA) conducted the search operation.

Preet Pal Sangwan, assistant commissioner of police (crime), said that the suspect was arrested from the spot and the recovered drug samples were sent to the lab for testing. “The contraband substance is suspected to have been bought from peddlers from West Bengal and was sold in Delhi-NCR Delhi through Sheikh. He is the middleman, who used to charge a commission of ₹10,000 per 100 grams and used to supply to two others, who were actively involved in selling the substance,” he said.

During a preliminary investigation, it was allegedly revealed that the buyers used to visit Sheikh in the slum and on an average, he catered to 10 people daily.

The neighbours told the police that they were unaware of his work. However, he carried expensive mobile phones , travelled in private cars and often bought expensive liquor and clothes, said the police.

The police is interrogating Sheikh to find out details about the drug racket and the involvement of other people in the illegal trade.

Sangwan said they have got details of the two dealers but they are on the run. “They used to purchase the drugs from Sheikh and them supplied to different parts of the city, along with Delhi, Noida, Ghaziabad, and nearby districts. This gang has been active for the past 10 years in the city and majorly smuggled brown sugar and heroin as they have high a profit margin and are easy to carry,” he said.

Muhammad Akil, commissioner of police, said the contraband is smuggled by stuffing them in gunny bags that are covered by stacks of fodder or vegetables. “We have analysed over 200 cases of drug seizures during the lockdown. We have seen that most of the consignments are smuggled from Delhi, West Bengal, and Uttar Pradesh. “The peddlers are taking advantage of essential services truck ferrying vegetables and groceries, by trying to hide the drugs below or inside the items,” he said

A case under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act was registered at the Sector 65 police station on Sunday night.

The police said during lockdown they have arrested 101 people, recovered 880 kilograms of drugs from the city, including 1.5kg heroin. The police added that teams are deployed near all the farmhouses that are suspected as delivery hubs in Sohna, Bhondsi, and the Aravalis. These places are being closely monitored as they are hot spots for the sale of drugs. In the past, more than 100 people have been arrested form these spots.