Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): The crime branch has achieved a breakthrough in curbing the smuggling of drugs into the city along with tightening the reins on its distribution and consumption. The data sourced from the crime branch revealed that from January till June last year, the wing had seized 40 kgs of drugs with cannabis topping the list.
However, the amount of drugs seized in the same period this year stands at 252 kg, including 40 kg brown sugar, 95 grams of MD and 117 kg of cannabis. This marks a 500% spike in drugs seized by the crime branch.
According to the top officials of the crime branch, this year, a majority of drug peddlers have been smuggling the psychotropic substances into the city from Odisha, where they manage to purchase them at a lower rate. Until last year, the drugs were being procured from Jharkhand, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh.
Demand for LSD, brown sugar soars
Sources at the crime branch told Free Press that after cannabis, the demand for other recreational drugs such as LSD, brown sugar and MD has soared among the consumers. All such drugs light up the mood of the persons consuming them, and they tend to forget all their woes.
Piplani, Ayodhya Nagar, MP Nagar hot spots
The crime branch officials said the drug peddlers after stepping into the city often turn up at places such as Jambooree Maidaan in Piplani or near the housing societies in Ayodhya Nagar and hostels near MP Nagar to distribute/sell the drugs.
DCP (Crime) Akhil Patel told Free Press that surveillance has been ramped up in these areas to restrain the distribution of drugs. He added that apart from students, daily-wage labourers also consume drugs in prolific quantities. The peddlers sell small packets containing drugs to them for as less as Rs 50, making them easily accessible to the daily wagers.
‘Strong whistle-blower network’
Additional deputy commissioner of police (Crime) Shailendra Singh Chouhan said the exponential increase in the amount of seized drugs indicates that the whistle-blower network of the crime branch is strong, which makes the peddlers land in the police dragnet in due time.
