Peddlers pay via UPI for narcotics sourced from Rajasthan suppliers

The Una police have found that drug peddlers are making payments online through the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) to the suppliers of narcotics in Rajasthan.

The dubious transactions came to light during investigation in a case registered by the Una police on July 14, 2024, under the NDPS Act. The police had confiscated about 150 kg of poppy husk from a truck in the Santosgarh area of Una. During investigation, truck driver Rahul Sharma, a resident of Bhabour Sahib village located near Nangal town of Punjab, revealed that he had brought the poppy husk from the dabha of Vishu Vaishnav in the Chittorgarh area of Rajasthan.

Poppy husk sold to truck drivers

• The dubious transactions came to light during investigation in a case registered by the Una police on July 14, 2024, under the NDPS Act
• It is for the first time the police has found that an online payment module is being used to bring narcotics into Himachal Pradesh, say sources
• Poppy husk sourced from Rajasthan was sold to truck drivers in Himachal and Punjab

The Special Investigation Team (SIT) constituted to probe into the case found that another accused Gaurav Sharma had transferred Rs 1 lakh online to the bank account of supplier Vishu Vaishnav through the UPI. Later, the police found that many other people had also transferred Rs 50,000 to Rs 1 lakh to the bank account of Vishnu Vaishnav.

IGP, Dharamsala range, Abhishek Dular said that the history of Rs 25 lakh UPI transactions had been found in Vishu Vaishnav’s bank account. The Himachal Police raided the house of Vishu Vaishnav in Rajasthan but he absconded. The SIT had been directed to question all people, who had transferred money online to Vishnu Vaishnav’s bank account. They would be questioned as to why they had transferred the money to Vishnu Vaishnav, who was accused in an NDPS case in Una, he added.

Sources said that the Una police had found that Vishnu Vaishnav was selling poppy husk to drug peddlers in Himachal at the rate of Rs 800 per kg. The peddlers were transferring payments online to his bank account. Once the money was transferred to his bank account, Vishu Vaishnav delivered poopy husk to Rahul Sharma, who then delivered it to the peddlers in Himachal.

However, the online transfer of money to the bank accounts of the drug suppliers by peddlers may land them in police custody soon. The sources said that it was for the first time the police had found that an online payment module was being used to bring narcotics into the state. They added that poppy husk sourced from Rajasthan was sold to truck drivers in Himachal and Punjab, who were regular customers of the narcotics.