In an attempt to nip the drug menace in the bud, the City Police will soon set up its own anti-narcotics cell which will be a part of the City Task Force (CTF) operations. The decision has been taken view the cases of unearthing high-end drugs such as cocaine, MDMA, crystal meth and LSD in the recent times.
Even as narcotics substances were found in small quantities during raids, the modus operandi in sourcing the drugs is something to ponder upon, says Commissioner of Police Ch. Srikanth.
“Moreover, the essential aspect is who the consumers are and to whom the contrabands are being sold. Unfortunately, the drug peddlers, the people sourcing it and the end consumers are educated youth or students. It is a dangerous trend. That is why it needs to be controlled at the earliest,” Mr. Srikant tells The Hindu.
A small beginning
The CTF is now being revamped with a set of young officers and constables and the anti-narcotics cell will be a part of its daily operations and job profile. “To begin with, we will assign at least one sub-inspector and five constables to a team that will focus on the use and sale of the narcotics,” says Mr. Srikanth.
It is learnt that the sub-inspector has been sent to Bengaluru to understand the source of drugs and how drug cases are handled, as most of the cases concerning the high-end drug busts in the city has its source of origin either in Bengaluru or Hyderabad.
The team will focus on surveillance, gathering intelligence and conducting raids. “Most importantly, we need a team to work dedicatedly on this issue, make the cases as water-tight so that the accused may not go scot-free easily. The team will take the investigation beyond the peddlers. The idea is to reach the kingpins or source points beyond the inter-State borders,” explains the City Police Commissioner.
Cybercrime
Similarly, the cybercrime police station is also being strengthened. The Police Commissioner says that cybercrimes are on the rise and there is a need for the police stations to be hi-tech. “But before that happens, the officers concerned need to have knowledge on cybercrime and cyberforensics for taking up the investigation effectively. That is why we have sent one SI to the counterintelligence department in Hyderabad that handles part of cyberforensics and one to Ahmedabad to the Cyberforensics Laboratory,” says Mr. Srikanth.
