Opium smugglers make hay through trucks carrying essentials
LUCKNOW: The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) has claimed that traffickers managed to smuggle a good amount of opium through vehicles transporting essential goods during lockdown.
It said the crackdown by NCB units of Lucknow and Jodhpur on multiple opium trafficking networks operating between Jharkhand and various north Indian states led to seizure of a total of 355 kg of opium from trucks carrying essential commodities in Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan in May.
Of the 355 kg, 215 kg of opium was seized in three cases in Uttar Pradesh while 140 kg was seized in three different cases in Rajasthan.
NCB Lucknow zonal director Prashant Kumar Srivastava, who is privy to the developments, said the traffickers used spare tyres, secret cavities attached to the vehicles’ axle, places below fuel tanks and engines in trucks carrying essential commodities to hide opium consignments.
He said the traffickers started exploiting the government’s move to provide free movement to vehicles carrying essential commodities across different states during the lockdown period. He said the gangs that were unearthed are believed to be involved in supplying of opium in most north Indian states and are associated to Jharkhand-based opium trafficking syndicate.
He said the source of the opium trafficking network had links in the Naxalite-affected areas of Jharkhand. All the trafficking groups were using the modus operandi of using essential commodity trucks to traffic the contraband across state borders, he added.
“On our radar were the drug trafficking groups that had access to road transportation network. They came into the radar after we got initial information about drug trafficking groups using the essential commodity transportation network to traffic narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances (NDPS) and it subsequently yielded results,” Srivastava said.
He said specific tip-offs and continuous surveillance led to first two seizures by NCB Lucknow zonal unit.
“In the raids, 31kg and 60 kg of opium were recovered from two trucks transporting essential commodities from Jharkhand to Haryana,” he said.
One of the key members of the network, Jharkhand resident Manoj Dangri was also arrested from the truck.
The arrest of Dangri led to information about more such movements helping the NCB Jodhpur zonal unit to make three seizures in Rajasthan.
He said the two seizures of 58.64kg and 4.85 kg opium was made from two trucks at two toll plazas near Ajmer in Rajasthan on May 19.
Sharing further details, superintendent of NCB Lucknow zonal unit Sujeet Kumar Singh said both the consignments of opium were sourced from Jharkhand and were carried in trucks plying between the Jharkhand and Rajasthan and one person each has been arrested in the two cases. While the third seizure of 41.04 kg of opium was done from a truck near Gegal toll plaza on May 20 after the arrest of two persons, in this case, he added.
In one of the biggest catches in recent times, the NCB Lucknow zonal unit seized around 124 kg of opium which was trafficked from Jharkhand to Kaithal, Haryana in a truck on May 29 in the same sequence.
He said the seized drug was concealed in spare tyres of the truck and three persons have been arrested in this connection.