How is NCB tackling drug trafficking in Mumbai

Be it a celebrity or a local neighbourhood youth the person may have procured the drugs for his or her consumption from a peddler who may have a supplier and the chain of supply needs to be dismantled says a senior Narcotics Control Bureau NCB official while explaining the change in strategy to curb drugs trafficking in MumbaiAfter studying past narcotics cases in debt the NCB officials have been busting interstate drug rackets to breakthechain drug supply in the city the official saidHe said that to combat drug trafficking the NCB has introduced a systematic strategy aimed at dismantling drug networks across various regions in the country This comprehensive approach focuses on identifying and addressing specific drugs prevalent in different areas of Mumbai and parts of the country that are said to be the origin of narcoticsThe official explained that the areas in Mumbai are vast and the details of the drug peddling need to be understood to get to the bottom of the supply chains In some areas Meow Meow or MD is popular whereas in some areas the supply of chemicalbased drugs is moreNotable chemicalbased drugs include Codeinebased cough syrup CBCS tablets MDMA and cocaine whereas popular supply of drugs also includes weed or cannabis In the case of cocaine and MDMA the origin could be from a foreign country whereas MD may have been prepared in a lab hidden from normal public eyesight or under the guise of some material preparation unit However weed or cannabis is produced in certain regions from where it is later smuggled to different places officials said adding that if the origin itself is dismantled then the supply chain is automatically destroyedRecent operations have seen law enforcement agencies successfully cracking the entire drug network and the authorities have gone deeper into the cases rather than just nabbing a peddler of drugs and closing the caseAn official said that the current focus is on targeting syndicates from the bottom up with plans to extend the crackdown beyond Mumbai The strategy involves making watertight cases property seizures and also recovery of drug money while investigating the accuseds financial transactions related to drug traffickingProperty seizures of the accused is one of the remedies under the provisions of law which the NCB is enforcing in major drug cases to break the drug syndicates in the country said NCB zonal director Amit GhawateThe officials apart from drugs also investigate the money trail and recover and seize the cash involved in the sale and purchase of drugs The NCB officials have been focusing on the origin of the drugsIn a recent case in July this year consequent upon the active intelligence and diligent efforts to crack down on the misuse of CBCS in Mumbai the NCB Mumbai had mounted surveillance near the Ulhasnagar area in the Thane district of MaharashtraReportedly the involved interstate traffickers were allegedly using different transport services for illegal trafficking of CBCS by misdeclaring the transported goodsExtensive efforts led to the interception of three traffickers and the recovery of illegally diverted 3000 CBCS bottles 300 kg worth Rs 15 lakhThe investigations after the seizure of the CBCS consignment led to the conclusion that it was sourced from Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh and the three traffickers were intercepted while receiving contraband parcels from transport Services in Ulhasnagar an official saidThey ordered CBCS bottles for illegal distribution in the Mumbai area which were alleged to be used as an alternative for narcotics substances by consumers The investigations further revealed that the suspects have criminal backgrounds and further investigations into the matter are onAlmost all states now have specialised NCB zonal units dedicated to tackling drug trafficking emphasising the importance of coordination among agencies These units are equipped with advanced software and tools to aid in their operations The NCB is spearheading these collaborative efforts when it comes to interstate drug busts Ghawate addedThe strategic campaign aims to not only disrupt the activities of individual peddlers but also to dismantle the larger networks facilitating drug distribution working towards a safer and drugfree society for which major steps including destroying the seized drugs are one of them he saidIn one such recent operation the Mumbai zonal unit of the NCB disposed of about 982100 kgs of drugs which were seized by the national nodal drug law enforcement agency The drugs were seized in various cases wherein numerous offenders including foreign nationals were arrested during the investigationA Regular Drug Disposal Committee RDDC was constituted by the guidelines after which the cases were reviewed and only fit cases were selected for disposal accordingly all legal terms were complied after which the seized drugs were finally disposed of through incineration on September 12 at Mumbai Waste Management Ltd in Taloja area of Navi Mumbai in MaharashtraAmong the disposal conducted on September 12 20 kgs of Mephedrone seized from Dongri Mumbai in June 2023 was also disposed of wherein multiple accused persons having criminal antecedents including kingpin financer and key associates were arrested and multicrore assets were seized an official saidThe disposed of drugs include Cannabis or Ganja Mephedrone Ephedrine CBCS Nitrazepam tablets Heroin Cocaine MDMA Ecstasy Methamphetamine Charas Opium Zolpidem Alprazolam and Tramadol weighing about 982100 kg These were seized from multiple international as well interstate drug syndicates wherein numerous persons including foreign nationals were arrested said an officialThe official added that NCB has been robustly engaged towards ensuring a drugfree society in the directive of which it has clamped down the interstate as well as international drug syndicates by curbing drug trafficking bursting the financial linkages