Delhi Police to shift female drug trafficker to Chennai jail

The accused, identified as Haseena Khatoon, alias Bajji, alias Sana, a resident of Zakir Nagar, has been ordered to be shifted from Delhi to Central Prison, Puzhal, in Chennai.

This marks the second such instance where a detainee is being relocated from the national capital to break the drug supply chain.

According to the police, the detention order was issued by the competent authority under the PITNDPS Act following a proposal moved by the Anti-Narcotics Task Force (ANTF) of the Crime Branch.

The proposal was forwarded to the PITNDPS Division under the Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance, Government of India, citing her repeated involvement in narcotics trafficking, an official said.

At the time of the detention, Khatoon was lodged in Tihar Jail in connection with a case registered by the ANTF. The police said Khatoon has been involved in at least three cases under the NDPS Act and one additional case under the POCSO Act and the IPC.

Her alleged role in drug trafficking dates back to 2021, when she was first arrested in a case registered at the Govind Puri police station as a source supplier to the key accused, the cop added.

Despite previous arrests, officials said she continued her involvement in the illegal drug trade. She was later apprehended again by the Crime Branch in a case involving the seizure of commercial quantity of smack.

Her name also surfaced in another NDPS case registered at the Hazrat Nizamuddin police station, where she was identified as a supplier of ganja, allegedly operating in association with her husband, who himself faces two NDPS cases, the cop added.

Describing her as a “habitual offender,” the police said her continued activities indicated an organised and persistent engagement in narcotics trafficking. They added that conventional legal measures had failed to deter her, necessitating preventive detention under the PITNDPS Act.

The continued presence of the detenue poses a serious threat to public health and safety. Preventive detention has become essential to curb her activities and safeguard public interest, an official statement said.