Shimla witnesses 140% rise in drug peddler arrests this year

Tribune News Service

Sameer Singh

Shimla, October 31

The number of persons arrested in cases registered under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act in Shimla has increased significantly. The police have employed advanced surveillance methods to cut the drug supply chain and squeeze the availability of intoxicating substances in the district.

23 women in police net

• 385 FIRs registered under NDPS Act
• 385 FIRs registered in NDPS Act cases in Shimla district
• 23 women among total number of drug peddlers arrested
• Of total 610 drug peddlers held, 135 belonged to other states
• Only 33% drug peddlers in police custody were arrested in state

As per the district police records, more than 610 peddlers have been arrested till October this year as compared to 250 arrests made during the same period last year, thus registering a more than 140 per cent increase.

The district police have registered 385 FIRs in NDPS Act cases this year and of the total number of persons arrested, 23 were women. The police have also sealed properties worth Rs 1.5 crore while Rs 2.5 crore worth of properties are under investigation.

As many as 37 drug peddlers are operating in the state from Haryana, 22 from Punjab, 22 from Nepal, 15 from Uttarakhand, five from Jammu and Kashmir and eight from Chandigarh, New Delhi and Uttar Pradesh.

Shimla SP Sanjeev Gandhi said, “We have prepared details of all those who were involved in drug peddling for the past five years or more. This has helped in in mapping the activities of drug peddlers and arresting them.”

Gandhi said, “The police are focusing on choking drug supply to reduce its availability. We have been successful to a good extent on this count. Besides stringent enforcement, the emphasis is now on sensitising people, including students, about the drug menace. We have witnessed some positive outcomes in this regard.”

The SP added, “The rise in the number of arrests made under the NDPS Act must not be misconstrued as the rising drug problem in Shimla district. It’s an outcome of our dedicated and well-trained teams employing advanced methods of surveillance to constantly and minutely monitor the activities of peddlers, thus helping in arresting them.”

Senior police officers said that tracking and cracking shoddy drug deals was a Herculean task but the application of advanced technology, enhanced surveillance, advanced methods of policing and tracking backward and forward linkages had yielded positive outcomes. They added that what was worrisome was that youth engaged in robberies, thefts and snatching incidents to arrange money for buying drugs.

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