Man nabbed with over 15K intoxicants in Jalandhar

Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, September 4

Kapurthala police on Friday busted a drug cartel with the arrest of a person carrying 15,520 intoxicating tablets.

The police registered a case under Sections 21, 61 and 85 of the NDPS Act against the accused at Phagwara Sadar police station.

SSP Harkamalpreet Singh Khakh said police teams were formed under the supervision of SP Sarabjit Singh and DSP Parmjit Singh of Phagwara to control drug menace.

The accused has been identified as Sukhdev Singh, a resident of Ajit Nagar, near Park Mini Rose Garden, Ludhiana, who is now living at Bhulla Rai village, near Shiv Mandir, Phagwara, Kapurthala.

The SSP informed a police team, led by CIA staff in-charge Sikander Singh near village Bhula Rai on the Phagwara side of the highway, noticed a person with a suitcase in his hand going towards Bhulla Rai village. On suspicion, the police party stopped him and asked him about his name and address and on checking his suitcase, a large quantity of drug pills were recovered from his possession by the police. As many as 15,520 alprazolam and tramadol tablets were recovered from the accused.

The SSP further elaborated that during preliminary investigation the accused had revealed that he had brought the intoxicating tablets from Kaliyar Sharif district Roorkee, Uttarakhand, in a suitcase by bus. He bought these tablets from Kaliyar Sharif at Rs 20 per strip and was supposed to sell the same at Rs 150 per strip which amounts to a hefty 23 lakh. This consignment of pills was to be supplied in Phagwara and its surrounding villages, which would make many youngsters addicted to drugs.

Giving more details, the SSP said, “The seized intoxicants are mostly pharmaceutical opioids. Many of these pharmaceutical products have legitimate and important medical use; however these products cannot be sold without a valid medical prescription from a registered medical practitioner.”

The accused was diverting these intoxicants pills, which are medically used for pain relief and treatment for opioid dependence, for extra-medical use, which can lead to major drug overdose issues and even deaths.

The SSP said the arrested smuggler would be produced before the magistrate by the police and their police remand will be sought to further investigate there backward and forward linkage so that further arrest can be made of those who are associated with these smugglers. The entire supply line will be exposed soon and anyone connected with the network will be arrested.

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