27 July,2015 10:30 AM IST | | Saurabh Vaktania
The Anti-Narcotics Cell (ANC) of the Mumbai police has now been manned with new police officers; the senior cops making up this cell have also received three days’ training in the basics of this field
The tainted Anti-Narcotics Cell (ANC) of the Mumbai police is undergoing a complete makeover. After the recent case being reported of cops being hand-in-glove with mephedrone aka meow meow peddlers, over half the ANC's force has now been staffed with new officers.
On Friday, the new officers completed three days' training to learn the basics of the field. The cops were also strictly instructed not to indulge in any nefarious behaviour again.
Shuffle, shuffle
The ANC has also witnessed major transfers. Currently, the department has 120 cops dedicated to working against drug peddlers. The ANC has five units in Mumbai Kandivli, Bandra, Worli, Azad Maidan and Ghatkopar.
All the heads, i.e. the senior inspectors of the ANC are new, and 60 new officials were transferred to the cell earlier this month. The ANC also got a new boss, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Jayant Naiknavare, who was earlier attached to the Pune Crime Branch.
With drugs taking over the lifestyle of the city's youth, the ANC has decided to do its bit to clear the city of its drug culture it is also making the youth aware of the dark dangers of slipping into a psychotropic world. Sources said that the ANC's prime target would also be to clear its past shadowy image.
The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), which was established to fully implement the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, has trained as many as 60 officers to curb one of the city's oldest
problems.
The officers were trained in conducting raids and introduced to new methods to deal with drug-related cases; the force is also beginning to adopt modern techniques to tackle the newly emerging trends in this dark business. The training process, that started on July 22, got over on Friday.
The 60 officers were trained to use the currently available kits to detect drugs, catch peddlers and create awareness about the dangerous effects of getting addicted to psychotropic substances. "This city has faced a lot due to the drug problem. Our priority is to keep the young away from being introduced to drugs.
We will conduct physical and social media campaigns in the future to keep the youth away from these deadly addictions. Those who are in such businesses will face action. The training process is underway; the officers are being trained to curb the growing movement of the supply (of drugs), and (we will) take appropriate action against those involved," said DCP Jayant Naiknavare of the ANC.
