Opium, smack new freebies, suspect Gurugram police

Sanjay Yadav
Gurugram, October 1

In what has set alarm bells ringing for the police, drugs, especially opium, seems to be the new “freebie” to woo voters.

According to police records, over 7 kg of opium was seized this year in comparison to only 20 gm last year, registering a 350 per cent hike in seizures. With the majority of seizures being done in the last two months, the police suspect that free drugs and free liquor are being used to woo voters.

A special crackdown has been planned and vulnerable areas, especially urban slums like Nathupur, Chakkarpur, Sector 9A, Rajiv chowk, Naharpur Rupa, Firoz Gandhi colony and areas near the Dwarka expressway, Rajendra park, Surat nagar, and ghettos of Sohna, Manesar, Bilaspur, and Farrukhnagar have been put on vigil.

According to the police records, there has been a massive hike in the haul of all drugs except marijuana. Only 1.13-kg charas/sulfa was recovered last year against 6.36-kg seized in the last two months. Smack seizure, which stood at only 31 gm last year, is 987 gm this year.

Last year, the recovery of poppy husk was zero, but the figure stands at 1.79 kg this year. The smuggling of marijuana, which is conventionally the highest used drug in Gurugram owing to its party drug status, has reduced considerably. Compared to 619.95 kg last year, only 307.41 kg was seized this year.

“The drugs that have seen a hike in seizures are not the ones conventionally used in Gurugram, as they are not party drugs. Users of these drugs are primarily migrants or people from rural backgrounds. They form the major voter base in elections. The transit and trade of these drugs have increased, especially in the last three months. We have launched a special crackdown in the city and on borders to curtail smuggling,” said a senior Gurugram police officer.