Now, drug peddlers lacing heroin with toxins

Ambika Sharma

Tribune News Service

Solan, September 20

Drug peddlers were lacing heroin with toxic substances like pesticides to give an added kick to the consumers. Cases where deaths have occurred due to drug overdose have led to this startling revelation.

Superintendent of Police (SP), Solan, Madhusudan Sharma, said this was an alarming trend as such toxics suppress natural activity of bio chemicals like dopamine in the body, which is a motivational hormone, and raises an artificial system which provides a temporary kick to the consumer.

Long term use of such drugs adversely impairs various body functions. Besides pesticides, other such toxic substances were also found present in the heroin supplied to the youth here.

He added that one single dose was enough to convert a consumer into an addict as heroin was a habit forming drug and youth in the 18 - 26 age group were increasing falling prey to its abuse in Solan.

Solan police has launched a campaign to eradicate this menace. As many as 70 cases have been registered this year where 11 Nepalese were among those arrested. As many as 10 Nigerian nationals have also been nabbed in the last over a year. A majority of them were found residing in the Uttam Nagar and Dwarka areas of Delhi without a valid visa and passport. They were languishing in jails here since months due to absence of these documents.

Investigations revealed that they smuggled concentrated form of heroin from their homeland using sea and air routes while cleverly escaping all surveillance. They routed the contraband through Afghanistan and Pakistan and later diluted and sold it to local peddlers. As much as 740 .644 grams of heroin has been seized by the Solan police in this year which was an indication of the growing heroin consumption.

“Keeping in view the involvement of a large number of foreign national residing in Delhi without a valid visa and passport, this issue has been taken up with the Delhi police for suitable action at their end”, informed the SP.

Presence of various educational institutes in and around Solan has led to mushrooming of paying guests in places like Khaleen where a large number of students reside with little parental control. These places were emerging as the vulnerable areas as youth often took to drugs under peer pressure.

“Various steps like creating awareness among parents, panchayati raj representatives as well as opening more drug re-habilitation centres which counsel the youth apart from providing them treatment are being taken along with policing”, added Sharma who felt a holistic approach has to be adopted by reducing the demand for drugs.

11 Nepalese, 10 Nigerians held 

The Solan police have launched a campaign to eradicate drug menace. As many as 70 cases have been registered this year where 11 Nepalese were among those arrested. As many as 10 Nigerian nationals have also been nabbed in the last over a year. A majority of them were found residing in the Uttam Nagar and Dwarka areas of Delhi without a valid visa and passport. They were languishing in jails here since months due to absence of these documents.