Drug cartels using JK as transit point
Syed Salman
Jammu, March 28: Drug abuse has acquired serious dimensions in the state of Jammu and Kashmir in the recent times. The number of drug addicts has increased alarmingly, with drug cartel operating from other countries using Jammu and Kashmir as a transit point making contrabands easily available.
According to unofficial source in Jammu and Kashmir charas and poppy is cultivated in the far off areas, and the destruction of the cultivation is extremely difficult for the authorities on account of law and order problems in the areas.
However, official sources said that the cultivation of poppy crop is strictly banned in the state of Jammu and Kashmir and the persons found involved in the trade are booked by Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) as the cultivation of crop needs a licensees issued from the NCB. According to facts and figures provided by NCB Jammu, sixty persons indulged in the trade have been booked under NDPS Act during the year 2007 and 44 cases have been registered in this connection.
In different parts of state approximately 677.000 kgs of Poppy Straw, 118.000 kgs of chars, 139 corex bottles, 398 capsules and other substances of drugs like Heroin, bung dust, and canbus powder were seized by the police and NCB till the end of 2007.
Official sources said that Jammu and Kashmir is geographically located between the countries having largest poppy growing areas and the Heroin is smuggled through the state and trafficked to major consumer markets in the world.