MUMBAI, Nov 3: In a rich haul, the Mumbai Police have seized various types of drugs and narcotics totalling 3,414 kg, and valued at a staggering Rs 131 crore in the past 3 years, according to a RTI reply released here on Wednesday.
The Anti-Narcotics Cell (ANC) of Mumbai Police also lodged 208 anti-drug cases and arrested 298 persons so far, but without any fanfare.
The disclosures came in a RTI reply given by Mumbai Police’s Assistant Commissioner of Police (ANC) Sandeep Kale, to activist Anil Galgali.
According to Kale’s reply, a total of 5 ANC units are working in Mumbai – at Azad Maidan, Worli, Bandra, Ghatkopar, and Kandivali – to go after the drugs peddlers and narcotics mafia.
The seizures include cannabis, hashish, mephedrone, cocaine, codeine, opium, MDMA, LSD papers, alperzoam, and netravet tablets.
Compared with 2019 and 2020, the ANC was more active this year and by October 20, its swoops had increased seven times, particularly after the issue blew up after the death of Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput, said Galgali, citing the information received.
In the data given by Kale, in 2019, of the total 394.35 kg seizures of narcotics, there were 1,343 strips, 7,577 bottles and 1,551 dot milligrams valued at Rs 25.29 crore.
During 2020, of the total 427.27 kg of narcotics seized, there were 5,191 bottles, 66,000 tablets, and 14 dot milligrams valued at Rs 22.24 crore.
In the first 10 months till October 20 this year, the ANC sleuths seized 2,592.93 kg narcotics comprising 15,830 bottles and 189 LSD papers worth Rs 83.19 crore – significantly higher than the previous two years, Galgali said.
Going about its sensitive task discreetly, the ANC lodged the highest 94 cases and nabbed 137 accused this year, compared with 44 cases and 58 arrests (2020) and 70 cases with 103 arrests (2019).
IANS