Smuggling no longer men’s field, 16 women held with drugs since 2017

Nikhil Bhardwaj

Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, June 2

The number of women entering the world of smuggling has been increasing every year. The Special Task Force of Ludhiana alone has nabbed 222 smugglers, of which 16 are women, since 2017. More than 166 kg of heroin worth crores on the international market has been recovered from these smugglers.

Harbans Singh, in charge of STF, Ludhiana, told The Tribune that of 166-kg heroin, 16.5 kg drug was recovered from the women smugglers. A few were repeatedly nabbed by the police as they continued smuggling drug even after coming out on bail.

These 222 smugglers were nabbed in 116 cases of drug smuggling while 26 of their accomplices are still at large. “Apart from heroin recovered from these 222 smugglers, the STF also recovered 3 kg of methamphetamine ice drug, 900-gram charas, 28.85-kg opium, 418-kg poppy husk, 2.21-kg ganja, Rs 14.37 lakh drug money, and two pistols with five cartridges,” said Harbans.

Of a total of 166 kg heroin, 80 kg was recovered in 2018 and 40 kg in 2017.

Habitual offenders

The STF officials believe that most smugglers nabbed by them are habitual offenders as they continue in the trade even after coming out on bail. There is a dire need to change the NDPS Act as smugglers easily get bail. “If a smuggler is caught with 1-5 gram of heroin, he can get out on bail any time, if the recovery is between 5 gram and 250 gram, then he or she has to stay in jail for more than two months, and if the recovery is more than 250 gram, then he or she cannot easily get bail for a minimum of one year,” said the officials.

Drug trade in jails

The jail authorities on Saturday nabbed two inmates with 24-gram intoxicant powder which was to be supplied to another inmate. A senior police official, requesting anonymity, said: “Many a time, a smuggler lodged in the jail continues to run the racket with the connivance of jail officials. In jail, heroin is sold for Rs 10,000 per gram, which is almost double the rate on the international market.”

Family biz

Questioning of the women smugglers revealed that some of them were into the notorious trade as it was their family business while the others took to the crime to become rich in a short span of time. Women are used as couriers by the key smugglers as they usually escape police suspicion.