A new trend of addiction has been reported in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar city and the surrounding rural areas. Addicts are consuming chocolates mixed with bhang.
The addicts remain in an inebriated condition for around eight to 10 hours after consuming several such chocolates. The State Excise Department arrested a suspect named Anil Bhagwandas Jaiswal and seized 4,259 bhang tablets from him at Lasur Station on Monday.
Against the backdrop of the assembly polls, the Excise Department has been conducting raids at various places to check the illicit liquor and drug sales in the district. SP Santosh Zagade received the information about the sale of bhang tablets and chocolates at Lasur Station.
Accordingly, Inspector Ajay Bagate, Shivaji Najan, Ganesh Nagve and others conducted a raid on Mahadev General Stores in the Lasur Station area. Earlier, they sent a dummy customer to the shop, who asked for the bhang tablets. After the confirmation of the sale of bhang, the squad conducted a raid and searched the entire shop. They found 4,259 bhang tablets and Jaiswal was arrested.
Available at cheap price
The squad found that the bhang tablets were mixed with ordinary chocolates and were being sold to the addicts. Jaiswal brought these tablets from Madhya Pradesh at the cost of ₹1 each by train and sold them for ₹10 per tablet to the addicts. As the tablets were wrapped in chocolate foils, they raised no suspicion.
Many youngsters in the villages around Lasur station and the city have been addicted to these bhang tablets. Some residents had lodged complaints about it on the Aaple Sarkar App and then the State Excise Department took action.
