Drugs being ‘pilfered’ from police stations

R Sedhuraman

Legal Correspondent

New Delhi, September 2

Large-scale pilferage of narcotics seized and kept in police station godowns was posing a serious problem in checking the drugs menace in the country, the Supreme Court was informed today.

The police seized as much as 60 lakh kg of narcotics in various states in the past 10 years, but only 16 lakh kg, accounting for 26 per cent, was destroyed or disposed of, senior advocate Aditya Sinha told a Bench comprising Justices TS Thakur and Kurian Joseph.

Sinha is assisting the court in the adjudication of a drug-related case by collecting data from all states and studying the methods of storage and disposal. Most of the seized contraband was stored in police ‘malkhanas’ which lacked security and, as a result, the narcotics was stolen by unscrupulous elements by replacing the pilfered quantity with substances like cattle dung, he said.

In order to prevent this, Sinha suggested creation of separate storage places with electronic security systems such as CCTVs and safety alarms in every district. The seized contraband should be put in sturdy containers, instead of gunny bags, and kept in strong vaults, the amicus suggested.

Appearing for the Centre, Solicitor General Ranjit Kumar said the illicit drugs could be handed over to the NCB or other central agencies like the Excise and Customs Department which had secure facilities.