LUCKNOW: Change in conditions due to coronavirus pandemic has led to the seizure of psychotropic substances in higher quantities as compared to previous years even as smugglers changed their modus operandi to peddle drugs and became active in more districts of the state, according to the Lucknow unit of the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB).
As per the data shared by NCB, as compared to 2019, about 58% more drugs were seized in 2020 when coronavirus lockdown was in place.
Officials said drugs were seized in higher quantities due to two reasons – trafficking of drugs in higher quantities through vehicles instead of human couriers and activities of smugglers spreading to five more districts.
Earlier, smugglers were active in 10 districts – Basti, Varanasi, Bahraich, Azamgarh, Kanpur, Bareilly, Gorakhpur, Siddharthnagar, Lakhimpur Kheri and Barabanki.
However, in 2020, drug traffickers also started operating in five more districts — Badaun, Amethi, Lucknow, Mirzapur, and Jhansi.
These districts have been put under special surveillance.
“The highest surge was witnessed in the seizure of opium, which skyrocketed from 24kg in 2019 to 431kg in 2020.
One kilogram of opium costs about Rs 1lakh,” a senior NCB officer said.
Zonal director, Narcotics Control Bureau, Lucknow, Prashant Srivastava told TOI, “Prior to lockdown and Covid-19 restrictions, opium traffickers used human couriers for drug trafficking who used to carry a maximum of 250g drugs with them.
“Since 2020, smugglers have started hiding large opium consignments in spare tyres, especially created secret cavities attached to the vehicle’s axle, below fuel tanks and engines of trucks carrying essential commodities,” Srivastava said.
“For the first time in UP, this year we have seized pharma-based drugs.
As many as 1.76 lakh bottles of codeine-based cough syrup were seized in Jaunpur and Varanasi.
The drug was being smuggled to North-East states,” he said, adding that the drug racket was organised.
“It starts from the west UP districts of Mathura and Agra and from Varanasi it is transported to North-East states.
A bottle of codeine, which costs Rs 40-45, is sold at Rs 500 in the North-East,” he said.