New Delhi: The Crime Branch of Delhi Police on Tuesday claimed that they have busted a drug syndicate being run by some employees of the NGO SPYM(Society for Promotion of Youth and Masses) in their De-addiction centre and arrested their two employees from southwest Delhi's Vasant Kunj area. Police identified the accused as Franklin Lazarus (54) and Manish Kumar (40).
Additional Commissioner of Police (Crime) Ajit Singla stated that they got an information that Lazarus in connivance with his colleague Mehta is involved in illegal sale of Narcotic drug Buprenorphine and they would be supplying a consignment of Buprenorphine Tablets to one of his customers at CNG Station, Vasant Kunj.
The accused were nabbed after a trap was laid . A team of Crime Branch under the supervision of DCP Bhisham Singh and ACP Aditya Gautam arrested the criminals.
Upon search, an illegal consignment of 3,800 tablets of Buprenorphine was recovered from his possession and a case was registered under appropriate sections of NDPS Act.
Police in their press statement claimed that the NGO SPYM bagged a project from NACO (National AIDS Control Organization) known as harm reduction program for drug addicts, who use medical syringes to inject different narcotic drugs in their body and usually share the same syringe with others. Such people become susceptible to HIV infection and to reduce this harm, these drug addicts were introduced to an alternate method viz buprenorphine tablets instead of Syringes and illegal opiates to bring them in the low-risk zone of HIV Infection.
"This alternate method was disseminated via various NGOs. Manish was the custodian of the stock of Buprenorphine. Franklin approached Manish with a proposal of selling the Buprenorphine tablets illegally to drug addicts, who were ready to pay the handsome amount," said Additional CP Singla. Manish grabbed this opportunity and joined hands with Franklin and the accused started selling a strip of Buprenorphine tablets for Rs 200 each.