Mumbai: As promised by Mumbai police chief Sanjay Pandey, the city police have launched an all-out operation against narcotic drug peddlers as well as consumers and registered the highest number of cases in 24 hours. The action is the biggest yet at least in terms of number of cases registered and number of arrests made in 24 hours.
As per the figues shared by Pandey, the city police have registered total 107 cases under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act of which five were possession cases while the rest were of consumption. They have arrested a total of 116 people.
During the 24 hours period, over 7 kilograms of contraband has been seized which includes 7.270 kg ganja, 225 grams of mephedrone (me) and 7 Codeine cough syrup bottles. Total drug worth of 11.31 lakh have been seized.
Monday's action seems marginal in terms of quantity and valuation of drugs seized, however it is necessary as it would act as a deterent in the minds of peddlers as well as that of consumers. And would certainly be beneficial in the fight against drugs, said an officer on the pretext of anonymity.
Pandey, in his weekly social media address repeatedly said that he was working on a special drive on the drug menace and ordered the force to take action regardless of quantity or quality.
Generally major drug cases are conducted by the Anti Narcotics Cell (ANC) of the Mumbai crime branch while the possession cases with lesser quantity of drugs are done by the police stations. However, after Pandey's order the other units of crime branch are also pressed into action and stated cracking on the peddlers and on consumers.
Over the period of almost two years, the anti narcotics agencies have started cracking down heavily on peddlers in the city including central Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) as well as the ANC. As a reason, the peddlers have changed their modus operandi and their area of operation. As many started operating outside the city limits while some started carrying less quantity of drugs. This way, the accused could get away with less jail term if caught, as in NDPS quantity of drugs seized matters a lot.
Explaining, the official said that if seized quantity is less, then the accused would get away with a lesser term as he is considered as a user or an addict. However there is a heavy jail sentence if caught with commercial quantity which differs for different substances.
