HP police arrest Nigerian drug kingpin

KULLU POLICE HAVE REGISTERED 20 CASES UNDER THE NDPS ACT AND ARRESTED 24 PEOPLE SO FAR, SAYS SP SHALINI AGNIHOTRI

DHARAMSHALA: Kullu police, under the recently launched “street dominance” operation to curb the drug menace in the district, have arrested a Nigerian smuggler from Delhi.

Police said that the accused, identified as Charles David, would operate under the pseudonym mark@john.

Kullu superintendent of police (SP), Shalini Agnihotri, said that the district police received several tip-off about the small time peddlers operating in the area under the project “Sehbhagita-Hamari Aur Apki”.

“Consequently, operation “street dominance” was launched and the police have registered 20 cases under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act and arrested 24 people so far. As many as 12 of these cases were related to heroine seizure,” the SP said.

The peddlers were interrogated and their technical analysis was done.

“In four cases, the source of the drug was identified to be same. So, a team was sent to Delhi to nab the main sources based on the information,” she said.

On positive identification, David was formally arrested on Sunday and 15-gram heroin was seized from his possession.

“Police have also recovered 0.2-gm suspected methamphetamine colloquially known as “crank” in illegal drug trade circles,” she said, adding that the police were investigating his links in Kullu district.

The accused will be produced in a court on Monday.

The district police had launched operation “street dominance” last week to curb drug menace with the help of locals.

Two helpline numbers, 8219681600 and 8219681601, have been set up where local people can tip-off the police about drug the peddlers operating in their area.

It is pertinent to mention that earlier this month, the Shimla police had also arrested a Nigerian national from the national capital for supplying drugs into the state.