Narcotics Control Bureau to probe cases related drug seizure by Uttar Pradesh police

LUCKNOW: In a first of sorts, the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) will take up cases related to seizure of drugs by Uttar Pradesh police. The cases in which the inter-state nexus of drug cartels is suspected will also be probed by the NCB.
NCB, Lucknow zonal director, Prashant Srivastava said this was being done on the directions of the ministry of home affairs. He said that for reaching to the bottom of nexus among drug cartels and syndicates and also for an in-depth investigation such a step was required.
“Coordination between NCB and other state agencies will also play a pivotal role in curbing the smuggling of drugs and keeping a check on drug syndicates functioning on the state borders,” he said and added that until now none of the cases of seizures by state police were taken up by the NCB.
After a study of recent seizures, the NCB said the focus areas in UP will be Jhansi, Bareilly, Mirzapur, Lucknow, Saharanpur, Bahraich and Barabanki districts.
Meanwhile, a senior officer at the DGP headquarters said that in a recently concluded DGPs-IGs’ conference, Union home minister Amit Shah had instructed the NCB to probe at least two-three cases having national and international ramifications.
An official said that as per the home ministry’s order, the Lucknow unit of the NCB has taken up two cases. “While one of the cases is related to a seizure of heroin made by the Bareilly police, another related to seizure of ganja in Firozabad district. We will be tracking the entire drug trail, from where it originated, where it was to be supplied and who all are suppliers,” said the officer.
The officer added that the NCB has also got information about labs being run clandestinely by some cartels. As per a tip-off, processing of heroin from opium is being done in these labs on border areas of UP and Uttarakhand. The officer also said that once the arrests are made the entire picture would be clear.
In 2021, around 11,000 kg of drugs were seized by the NCB in UP and 127 miscreants arrested.