383 people held in drug offences this year

New Delhi: In its crackdown against drugs the Delhi Police this year has seized more than 16 quintal ganja, 4 quintal poppy husk and more than 190 Kg Smack and heroin.

Police has arrested 383 persons for supplying, peddling and consuming drugs. The Delhi Police is also studying the pattern used by the drug dealers and various modus operendi used by them to supply drugs and dodge the police teams. "We have seized 27.9 kgs of Charas, 1687.6 kgs of Ganja, 190.1 kgs of Heroin and Smack, 416.6 kgs of Poppy Head and .6 kgs of Cocaine till May 31 in our persistent efforts to curb drug menace," said Madhur Verma, DCP New Delhi.

Interestingly, the arrest of 3 Nigerians in March this year again highlighted the most preferred modus operandi of the drug mules ( carrier ) that is 'swallowing'. The drug carrier often swallows heroin and cocaine-filled in tiny balloons with small quality of the drugs. A carrier has to swallow many dozens of such capsules which are later recovered from the faeces after administering laxatives. An increasingly popular type of swallowing involves having the drug in the form of liquid-filled balloons or packages. These are impossible to detect unless the airport has high-sensitivity X-Ray equipment, as a liquid mixture of water and the drug will most likely not be detected using a standard X-Ray machine.

"Source-based intelligence still remains the most effective means to counter drug trafficking especially when the drug is hidden inside the stomach," said the senior police officer.

Delhi Police, as per directions of the Juvenile Justice Committee, Delhi High Court also organised a 'Symposium' on the growing menace and easy availability of drugs to juveniles, and the means and measures needed to curb the supply.