Two members of gang supplying drugs to jail inmates arrested

The accused identified as Manish Kumar was arrested after 1,000 tablets were recovered from his possession when he came to the jail to meet an inmate and give him the drugs

Muzaffarnagar (UP): Police on Sunday arrested two members of a gang, who are supplying drugs for intoxication to jail inmates. The alleged incident occurred in Uttar Pradesh's Muzaffarnagar district.

The accused identified as Manish Kumar was arrested after 1,000 tablets were recovered from his possession when he came to the jail to meet an inmate and give him the drugs. Superintendent of Police Satpal Antil said that the drugs were recovered during frisking at the district jail on Saturday.

Following the arrest, Kumar was interrogated regarding the whereabouts of his accomplice, Raj Singh. However, he was arrested from Muzaffarnagar city, he added.

A case has been registered against the accused under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and a search is underway to nab the other members of the gang, the officer said.

In another incident, the Mumbai Crime branch's Anti Narcotics Cell (ANC) last month opposed the bail application of four accused who were caught in connection with a drug case. The accused were arrested with 100 kilograms of fentanyl worth Rs 6900 crore in the international market and is said to be one of the world's biggest drug seizure ever.

In December 2018, four men were arrested for illegal possession of Fentanyl, a banned drug, with a value then calculated was worth Rs 1000 crore. These accused were nabbed by Azad Maidan unit at Vakola, Santacruz (East). The accused identified as Salim Dola, Ghanshyam Saroj and brothers Chandramani and Sandeep Tiwari were busted with four drums filled with the drug by the police.

According to the police, Fentanyl, an opioid is commonly used as an anesthetic to relieve pain but also abused for recreation purpose. This drug is fatal and has caused death of the consumers hence being banned under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act (NDPS). An officer stated that this drug is very powerful and its demand is high in the market. The customers are mostly high profile people and it is reported that 1 kg of the drug costs Rs 10 crore in the international market.

According to the ANC, Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) of new Federal agents, assisted by members of the Worcester, Northborough and Westborough Police Departments of Drug enforcement agencies (DEA) New England seized 50 kilos of N-Phenethyl-4-piperidinone (NPP) on 25th May 2017. This is commonly used for the illicit manufacture of fentanyl, a powerful synthetic opioid that is 50 to 100 times more potent than morphine. They submitted in their report that if they convert 50 kilograms of NPP, it would theoretically yield up to 19 million fentanyl tablets with an estimated street value of over 570 million USD which is around Rs 3450 crore.

DCP Shivdeep Lande from ANC confirmed the FSL report and said if we convert 100 kilograms of NPP, it would theoretically yield up to 38 million fentanyl tablets and estimated street value will reach around Rs 6900 crore. Sources also revealed that the police, along with agencies in Mexico are looking into the matter as the drugs were scheduled to be delivered in Mexico. Also, Rs 1000 crore consignment has already been delivered to Mexico through the same chain and further investigation is underway.

(With inputs from PTI)

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