To rein in drug peddlers in J&K, their properties to be sealed & seized, issuance of notices to start within a week: Jammu DM
The action would be a prelude to seal and seize their properties in case they fail to come up with satisfactory replies about immovable and moveable properties acquired by them, their family, relatives and associates
To rein in drug smugglers in Jammu district, the administration will start issuing notices to accused peddlers within a week, to know the source of their immovable and movable properties.
The action would be a prelude to seal and seize their properties in case they fail to come up with satisfactory replies about immovable and moveable properties acquired by them, their family, relatives and associates.
It is going to be the first such action against drug peddlers in the region.
In this context, Jammu district deputy magistrate (DM) Sachin Kumar Vaishya has already asked sub-divisional magistrates (SDM) and tehsildars to issue the notices to accused peddlers within a week.
Under The Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, powers have been vested with magistrates to issue notices to drug-peddlers, booked and arrested, directing them to divulge the sources of their immovable and movable properties.
Drugs, especially ‘chitta’ (heroin) have assumed alarming proportions across Jammu and Kashmir, mostly in the border areas.
“We are working on certain key areas to rein in drug peddlers. Within a week, the administration shall start issuing notices to drug peddlers, who were booked and arrested by the police directing them to divulge the source of their immovable and moveable properties,” said Vaishya.
“Not only them but also their associates and relatives can be issued similar notices to divulge their source of immovable and movable properties. If they fail to give satisfactory replies then their properties will be seized,” added the DM.
He informed that relevant data has been furnished by the police and already shared with the sub-divisional magistrates and tehsildars.
“Within a week’s time, we will start issuing notices to the drug peddlers,” he said.
Apart from this, the administration has also decided to identify the hotspots of drugs in the district via SDMs, tehsildars and police. The general public will also be reached out for the purpose.
“After identifying hotspots, peddlers in those areas will be zeroed in and action under law will be immediately initiated against them,” said the DM.
Similarly, the health department has been asked to regularly provide a database to the administration about localities from where more drug addicts report at the hospitals.
“Transactions of chemist shops will also be monitored for the sale of over-the-counter prescription drugs. We will intensify inspections at medical shops,” he said.
The administration has also asked lead district managers of various banks to inform it about big monetary transactions, which might have been associated with the drug trade.
The administration has also sought a list of private and government drug de-addiction and rehab centres to monitor their functioning vis-à-vis their success rate.
“We will also be reaching out to the parents via various channels to keep a check on their children. The aim is to completely choke the supply and demand chain,” said the DM.
Jammu district senior superintendent of police Vinod Kumar informed that so far this year, police have registered 357 FIRs, arrested 474 drug peddlers, and booked 23 others under PSA and PIT NDPS Act (Prevention of Illicit Trafficking in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act).
“We are working on forward and backward linkages in each case of drug peddling. Apart from this, we are also working on financial investigation of movable and immovable drug peddlers so as to freeze them,” said Kumar.
Seizure this year so far by the Jammu police
As many as 17 kgs of ‘charas’, nearly 5 kgs of heroin, 87 kgs of ‘ganja’, 600 kgs of poppy straw and a large number of injections, psychotropic drugs sold over the counter by chemists.
On October 1, police, for the first time in J&K, had recovered 30 kgs of cocaine from a Punjab-bound vehicle and had arrested two smugglers in Ramban district.
