Over 4,000 kg of seized narcotics set on fire

CHENNAI: In what is said to be the largest stockpile of narcotics destroyed at one time in recent years, state police officials on Tuesday burnt over 4,000 kg of heroin, ganja, cocaine, opium and other narcotic substances seized over the decades in raids. The drugs, which were estimated to have a street value of over Rs 54 crore, were incinerated at a private facility in Singaperumal Koil near Chengalpattu.
The drugs had been seized from 14 districts across the state with Salem accounting for more than 1,000 kg.They were brought from the various districts with police escorts. Many senior officials, including superintendents and their deputies in the districts from which the drugs were brought, were present at the Chengalpattu site to monitor the work.
Arunachalam, Deputy Inspector-General of Police, NIB CID, said the incineration was part of the war against narcotics. "The drugs which have been brought here had been locked up in storage rooms across the state. All the material brought here is related to cases that have been disposed. Even the appeal period in these cases has run out. Following the order of the trial courts, we have burnt all the drugs and psychotropic substances," he said. "About 14,000 buprinophine injections were also burnt. We chose this facility as it complies with the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board's environmental standards," he added.
The DIG said the state had been made relatively free of drugs after security was tightened in coastal areas. A senior police official added, "Most of the ganja farms across the state have already been destroyed. Recently, a field in Dharmapuri district was burnt. Drug trafficking in the state has come down in the last few years." He added, "Even though most of the drugs that had been locked up have been burnt, there is still a significant amount relating to ongoing trials that has been retained as evidence. As cases drag on, some drugs remain on shelves for a long time. A few kg of opium seized in Nagapattinam in 1976 were burnt only now."
Before the burning, supervised by representatives from the Excise and Forensics departments, officials verified whether all the drugs burnt had been accounted for and tallied with excise department data.
The incinerator facility, belonging to GJ Multiclave India Ltd, was leased out to the police at a cost of Rs 12.50 per kg burnt. Earlier, seized drugs were burnt at a factory in Thiruvottriyur, but following objections from TNPCB officials, it was shifted to the remote spot.