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 Mumbai.

After studying past narcotics cases in debt, the NCB officials have been busting inter-state drug rackets to 'break-the-chain' drug supply in the city, the official said.

He 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 narcotics.

The 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 chemical-based drugs is more.

Notable chemical-based drugs include Codeine-based 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 destroyed.

Recent 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 case.

An 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 water-tight cases, property seizures and also recovery of drug money while investigating the accused's financial transactions related to drug trafficking.

"Property 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 Ghawate.

The 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 drugs.

In 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 Maharashtra.

Reportedly the involved interstate traffickers were allegedly using different transport services for illegal trafficking of CBCS by misdeclaring the transported goods.

Extensive efforts led to the interception of three traffickers and the recovery of illegally diverted 3000 CBCS bottles (300 kg) worth Rs 15 lakh.

The 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 said.

They 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 on.

"Almost 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 inter-state drug busts," Ghawate added.

The 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 drug-free society for which major steps including destroying the seized drugs are one of them, he said.

In one such recent operation, the Mumbai zonal unit of the NCB disposed of about 982.100 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 investigation.

A 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 Maharashtra.

Among 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 multi-crore assets were seized, an official said.

The 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 982.100 kg. These were seized from multiple international as well interstate drug syndicates wherein numerous persons including foreign nationals were arrested, said an official.

The official added that NCB has been robustly engaged towards ensuring a drug-free society in the directive of which it has clamped down the inter-state as well as international drug syndicates by curbing drug trafficking, bursting the financial linkages.