SMALL-TIME VENDORS ROAM FREE

While the authorities are cracking the whip on big drug transporters and smugglers, the ground level vendors continue to indulge in the sale of the contraband in small quantities.

Several small-time ganja vendors are now selling “ganja filled cigarettes” at several places in the city right under the nose of the law enforcement agencies. The cigarettes are sold for `35 to `40 each at several places in the city including Sun City, Rajendranagar, Kalapather, Moosa Bowli, Ghode-ki-Khabar, Jhirrah Asifnagar and a few places in the IT corridor, sources said.

These cigarettes are sold by groups of teenagers who procure the weeds from Dhoolpet and Mangalhath areas, infamous for the sale of the contraband. The weed is sold in small packets of 10 grams and big packets of 20 grams at the two areas. “After bringing it to the colonies, the contraband is stuffed into the cigarettes and sold. The sellers make a profit margin of a couple of thousand rupees,” said S. Q. Masood, a social activist from Bahadurpura.

Officials of the prohibition and excise department said they are conducting awareness programs at educational institutions to prevent the youth from getting addicted to drugs. “We are also planning to invoke NDPS Act against the persons who are venturing into Dhoolpet and its surroundings to purchase the marijuana,” said an official of the P&E department.