107 cases with 116 arrests in 24 hrs

As promised by Commissioner of Police Sanjay Pandey, the Mumbai police launched an all-out operation against drug peddlers and consumers on Monday and registered the highest number of cases in a day. The action is the biggest yet, at least in terms of the number of cases registered and arrests made in 24 hours.

As per data shared by Pandey, 107 cases were registered under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, of which five were of possession, while the rest were for consumption. During the 24hour drive, over 7 kg contraband was seized, which included 7.27 kg ganja, 252 grams of mephedrone (MD) and seven codeine cough syrup bottles. Total drugs worth Rs 11.31 lakh were seized and 116 people were arrested.

Monday’s action seems marginal in terms of quantity and valuation of drugs seized, however it acted as a major deterrent, the police said. An officer on condition of anonymity said it’s certainly beneficial in the consistent fight against the drug menace.

Pandey, in his weekly social media address, has repeatedly said that he is working on special drives and had ordered the force to take action regardless of quantity or quality.

Generally, major drug seizures are conducted by the Anti-Narcotics Cell (ANC) of the Mumbai crime branch, while the possession cases with lesser quantities of drugs are undertaken by police stations. After Pandey’s order, the other units of the crime branch were also pressed into action.

For the past two years, the anti-narcotics agencies have begun cracking down more heavily on peddlers in the city; the agencies include the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) as well as the ANC, because of which peddlers have changed their modus operandi and areas of operation. While many have started operating outside the city limits, some have started carrying a lesser quantity of drugs so as to get away with minor jail terms, as in NDPS cases, the quantity seized matters a lot.