The lure of easy and quick money allegedly pushed five unemployed men, all around 30 years of age, into the illegal opium trade, only for them to land in police custody after two major anti-drug operations in Fatehabad district on Tuesday.
Under the district police’s anti-drug campaign, separate teams arrested five accused and seized a total of 5.497 kg of opium worth over Rs 25 lakh in the illegal market.
In the first operation, the CIA Fatehabad team raided a farm hut at Indachhui village in Tohana subdivision following a tip-off. The police arrested Satyavan, a resident of the village, and recovered 2.56 kg of opium, estimated to be worth more than Rs 12 lakh.
In another operation, the Anti-Narcotics Cell (ANC) intercepted a Tata Tiago car near Dhangar village after receiving specific inputs. During the search, the police recovered 2.937 kg of opium worth around Rs 13 lakh from the vehicle.
Four occupants of the car Anand Kumar, Shyam Pathak, Brahmanand and Sanjeev Kumar, alias Sanju, all residents of different districts of Uttar Pradesh were arrested. Police sources said the accused were unemployed and had allegedly entered the drug trade in an attempt to make fast money.
An NDPS Act case has been registered in both matters. The vehicle used for smuggling has also been impounded. Addressing a press conference, ASP Divyashi Singla said the accused would be taken on police remand to identify other members of the network and trace the main suppliers behind the racket. The police said the crackdown against narcotics smugglers would continue and appealed to the public to share information about drug trafficking and other criminal activities.
