17 September,2009 07:15 AM IST | | Kranti Vibhute
... only the guilty, as new drug detection DEVICE will nail users in 30 seconds liberating innocents from SHAME ANDu00a0 police Harassment
There's a new drug detective that will soon bring relief to innocent pub crawlers hauled up during a drug bust.
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It's an instrument, not a person, and it's called Cozart(R) which a source said was the fastest and most reliable drug testing instrument currently available worldwide.
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What it does is give results from a saliva sample within 30 seconds and reveals the presence of six drugs heroin, marijuana, cocaine, hash, LSD and charas.
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If the person tests positive, the sample is sent for reconfirmation tests.
The Anti-Narcotics Cell (ANC) of the Mumbai police has sent a proposal to the government to buy this Drug Detective System.
What happens now
If the proposal is accepted, it can be the end of embarrassment for people attending a rave party for instance.
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Now, during a drug bust, the police detains every single person at the venue under suspicion of consuming narcotics.
As the media dances around for a byte, the taint of drug abuse remains forever, even if the person is innocent.
And then there is police procedure the person is hauled to the police station, his/her details are taken and is then sent to the nearest government hospital for blood and urine tests.
Since the raids are generally conducted at night and courts are shut by then, the person has to spend the night in the police lock-up.
They are released the next day only after a lawyer gets them bail. The drug detective will change all that as the results are immediate and therefore only the users will be hauled up.
Good idea
A student, who was caught on Monday for consuming drugs, said, "I am repenting for experimenting in drugs and will never do it again.
If the police has a drug detection kit, then it will really give a big relief to those who are innocent, but get caught for being at the wrong place at the wrong time."
Added Sanket Bhatt, a BMM student, "I organise events and have seen police raids. The kit will actually help innocents like me from police harassment."
u00a0However, relief is not immediate.
The purchase of the drug detective is still a proposal.
An ANC official said, "We are awaiting the answer. This kit will be very helpful for the ANC and will help the department find the real culprits and release the innocent at the same time."
DCP Sunil Paraskar of the ANC added, "As of now, we are waiting for a demo. I cannot reveal what the instrument costs or how many we will be ordering."
Rave Raids
Juhu pub, July 2009: Nine persons were picked up from a lane near a pub on Juhu Tara Road for consuming cocaine and possession of drugs.
The arrested included business executives, two MBA students and a girl who had recently returned home after losing her job in the US.
Colaba home, July 2009: The ANC busted a party at a Colaba flat and arrested 11 persons (later released on bail) including four women.
Bombay 72 Degree East, October 2008: 109 people who were arrested at a rave party in this Juhu pub. 109 of the 231, tested positive for drug consumption. Eight peddlers were also arrested.
Pune rave party, March 2007: A holi party of young IT professionals and students, including 29 girls and 12 foreign nationals, was cut short by undercover cops in a predawn swoop that landed 251 people behind bars.
