Uttarakhand records a rise in synthetic drug trafficking
DEHRADUN: The menace of drug trafficking has increased in Uttarakhand over the past few years, reveals the latest police data. The recovery of illegal drugs, including heroin, opioids, injective drugs and smack, has also shot up significantly in the hill state.
According to police data, 0.1 kg of heroin was recovered in the state in 2020. This rose to 1.2 kg in 2021. All of this amount was seized from Dehradun itself.
Similarly, the number of opioid tablets (Tramadol and Fentanyl) recovered in the state rose from 8,408 in 2020 to 1,18,361 in 2021. Out of the 1,18,361 seized tablets, a whopping 1,04,653 were found in Haridwar alone.
Police also recovered 0.2 kg of brown sugar last year. In 2020, no quantity of this drug was found in the hill state. Besides, the units of injective drugs seized increased from 5,123 in 2020 to 9,992 in 2021. However, the most trafficked drug remained smack (or black tar heroin). In 2021, 18.1 kg of smack was seized as compared to 12.1 kg in 2020. Out of the total 18.1 kg of smack seized in Uttarakhand in 2021, 5.1 kg was found in Dehradun alone.
Speaking on the issue, a senior official said, “Traffickers are increasingly getting involved in the movement of synthetic drugs to earn more money.”
Meanwhile, Ajay Singh, SSP, Special Task Force (STF), which is the state nodal agency in Uttarakhand to tackle drug menace, said, “Most of the supplies come from the cities of neighbouring Uttar Pradesh. These include Bareilly, Moradabad and Saharanpur. Police have cracked down on the major suppliers in these cities and will continue to take action against such activities.”