Police to track drug supply chain in MP, Rajasthan
Friday, 18/10/2013
http://www.tribuneindia.com/2013/20131018/punjab.htm#1
Phul (Bathinda) : Buoyed by its successful operation against a Karnal-based (Haryana) drug manufacturer, the Punjab Police now plans to take the battle right to the source of opium and poppy husk in other parts of the country, particularly Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan.
Two days ago, the police had seized 100 quintals of poppy husk in Mansa, which was smuggled into Punjab from Madhya Pradesh.
The Punjab Government has, in various national fora, raised the issue of cultivation and licensed sale of drugs in states like Rajasthan from where these are smuggled to Punjab. Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal had recently lamented that while drugs brought revenue for other states, it was a source of deaths and crime in Punjab.
Director General of Police Sumedh Singh Saini today said, “We have been successful in our earlier operations. Now our aim is to target the large-scale suppliers to peddlers.” Saini along with Education Minister Sikander Singh Maluka was in the town for the opening of a new police station building.
Referring to the Bathinda zone that was notorious for drug use and smuggling, the state police chief said there was some improvement but better results would be visible in next three months. He, however, refused to comment on the rising incidents of drug smuggling from Pakistan and whether it was the BSF’s “failure” or “connivance”.
“We have made recoveries of drugs weighing over a quintal several times this year. The seizure to date this year is three times as compared to 2011. As a result, snatching incidents (mainly blamed on drug addicts) have also come down,” he said..
