E-Paper
Smack trade spreads its tentacles in city
SMACK, WHICH as deadly a narcotic as heroin and cocaine, has spread its tentacles in the city. Thanks to the callousness of some policemen and connivance of a few of their colleagues, this drug is being sold from several houses in Rajapur, Kareilly, Cantonment and some other localities in the old city. It is known to maim or kill a person.
SMACK, WHICH as deadly a narcotic as heroin and cocaine, has spread its tentacles in the city. Thanks to the callousness of some policemen and connivance of a few of their colleagues, this drug is being sold from several houses in Rajapur, Kareilly, Cantonment and some other localities in the old city.
It is known to maim or kill a person.
It is freely available near the junction station. All one needs is to have the right connection to get to the person who hands over a minuscule packet in exchange for a Rs 100 note.
It is easy to divide one dose for two joints. What is worse, smack addicts are mostly from the younger lot, who do not have enough money to satiate their urge. As a result, most of them resort to petty thefts. So, with the rise in the number of smackers, there was a sudden spurt in the number of petty thefts which go unreported, said a station officer. It is difficult to control such minor thefts, which include cycle lifting. A brand new bicycle could be sold by a smack addict for just Rs 200, or Rs 300, or even less, he admitted.
Police sources said smack was brought to the city from Barabanki by burqa-clad women.
They hopped into buses, taxis and any other available mode of transport to reach the city and hand over the consignment to the person concerned.
Roughly, smack worth nearly a crore was finding its outlet in the city every month. Besides, purchasers from Kanpur, Banda and some other districts also come to the city at regular intervals to lift their quota from suppliers.
Some families from Unchwagadhi and Rajapur are on the run due to their involvement in this business.
But, sources said this had hardly affected their business, which was being controlled by the second-rung. Some police stations get a cut from drug dealers and look the other way when smack is sold right under their nose. A youth addicted to smack died in Rajapur locality recently.
