Guwahati turns transit point for smugglers

GUWAHATI: The city has turned into a major transit point for ganja and heroin smugglers despite strict implementation of anti-narcotics laws. Between April 2002 and May 2011, the anti-narcotics cell of CID (Assam Police) seized 1,16,050 kg ganja and more than 252 kg heroine from here.
Officers of the cell said ganja has been found to be the most-after such substance smuggled from the northeast to states like Bihar and Uttar Pradesh."The contraband tops the list among narcotics seized from the city. The city has become a transit point for smugglers," said a senior officer.
Since January, the cell registered 38 cases of ganja smuggling and arrested more than eight people. "In January and February, we registered 18 cases which came down to 15 in March," he said.
On charges of carrying and distributing ganja in the city, CID sleuths have arrested 1,155 criminals and registered 735 cases against them under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic (NDP) Substances Act.
The CID data available with TOI shows 221 persons were arrested in 2002, which is the highest.
In 2003, the number decreased to 144 and to 125 in 2004. Although it declined further to 89 and 67 in 2005 and 2006 respectively, the CID arrested 178 criminals, including a foreigner, in 2007. However, the number decreased again to 149 in 2008, 111 in 2009 and 61 last year.
Although the number of persons arrested for smuggling the contraband is on the wane for the last three years, CID sources said smuggling is unabated in the city. According to investigation agencies like DRI, ganja smugglers have been generally using two roads that connect Guwahati with Ukhrul district of Manipur. DRI officials seized 19,000 kg of ganja in 2009 and 4500 kg in 2010. Besides DRI and CID, the Railway Protection Force and Government Railway Police personnel seized huge amount of ganja from three railway stations last year.
However, all investigation agencies have pointed out that smugglers have been using the two routes for carrying narcotic elements from Myanmar and Manipur to Guwahati. According to them, one of the stretch is the Manipur-Numaligarh-Tezpur-Guwahati Road.
The other one is the Manipur-Jiribam-Silchar-Shillong-Guwahatisection.
Sources said most ganja smugglers, who were arrested, confessed that one agent was entrusted with the responsibility of passing the consignments to three stations and they use the city as the final transit point for loading and unloading the contraband.
On the other hand, heroin smugglers are also using the city as a transit point for transporting drugs consignments from Myanmar to Delhi and Mumbai. A senior officer of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence said they have detected some persons who are using sophisticated vehicles to carry heroin to the city. "One agent carries the consignment to Guwahati and another one takes it to cities like Kolkata. Heroin smugglers are very difficult to detect as the substance takes very little place," said the officer.
The anti-narcotics cell of CID arrested 252 persons on charges of smuggling heroin to the city between 2002 and 2010 and seized 25 kg of the substance from them. In 2008, 7.5 kg of heroin was seized. In 2010, the investigation agency seized 6.4 kg of the contraband and arrested 34 people.