Cultivating a drug-free state

Raids on

The CID Narcotics Cell, established last year, is on a raiding spree leading to a sudden increase in arrests and seizures. Officials of the cell said after March, when the season for sowing and harvesting of poppy and opium is over, the two districts will no longer be known as the prime places of narcotics cultivation.

Since January, the cell has conducted a series of raids at Tehatta I, Tehatta II, Karimpur I, Karimpur II, Kaliganj and Nakashipara and seized huge quantities of narcotics.

“On Tuesday, the Narcotics Cell raided Uttar Satikhali village at Tehatta in Nadia district and arrested 49-year-old Khagen Mandal. The team seized 5.750 kg of opium from him, the international value of which is estimated at Rs 2.3 crore,” said Inspector General CID (Special) Sanjay Mukherjee.

He added that the consignment would have been used for the manufacture of more than a kilogram of pure heroin.

Strict action

“Similarly, we have seized a huge quantity of opium and poppy from Nadia and Murshidabad districts in the last two months. All the seized consignments were cultivated last year. We did not spare the manufacturers, farmers or the landowners. Stern action has been taken against all concerned,” he said.

At a public meeting at Tehatta in August 2007, chaired by ADG CID Bhupinder Singh, it was decided that government officers and even the panchayat pradhans in the district would not be spared if narcotics cultivation was detected in their areas. DIG BSF (Murshidabad), DIG CID (Special), Nadia SP, Nadia DM, eastern zonal director of Narcotics Control Bureau and several gram and panchayat pradhans attended the meeting.

CID officials said the district administration and other law enforcing agencies have designed a comprehensive strategy to rid the district of illegal narcotics. From being a mere transit point for smugglers, Nadia has fast emerged as a major hub for narcotics production.

“We are very close to our goal of ridding the two districts entirely of poppy and opium cultivation. Already the cultivation of narcotics has dropped by over 90 per cent,” Mukherjee added.

Narcotics Cell sources said they were on the lookout for drug-traffickers who procured drugs in Nadia and Murshidabad and supply them to various places in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan.

On the wane

“Last year, narcotics cultivation was omnipresent in the district. But the scenario has changed now. We destroyed opium, poppy and ganja in about 30,000 bighas, framed 103 NDPS cases and arrested over 200 people last year,” police said.

“We have taken an initiative to fully restrict the cultivation of narcotics in the district. We will take strong action against the pradhans too if found culpable,” said a senior police officer of Nadia district.

The cultivation of opium usually begins in September and continues till March. About 1.5-kg opium is grown in one bigha of land. Each kilogram of opium is sold at Rs 30,000 to Rs 35,000, said district police sources.