Police initiated a massive crackdown against drugs smuggling racket which is thriving in upper Assam’s Dibrugarh district for the past one decade.
During the period from May 1 to July 9, 2021, Dibrugarh police have registered 29 NDPS cases and arrested 56 drug peddlers.
Police have seized 212.6 grams of heroin, 731.43 grams of brown sugar and 65.863 kg of Cannabis till Friday.
Sources said the drugs trade flourished in the upper Assam after Elahi Sheikh, the drug kingpin of upper Assam took over the drugs racket from Badsha Khan.
Khan was a drug lord of the entire upper Assam in the late ’90s who supplied Cannabis and Opium but after that Sheikh, a tailor in the Kalibari area took over the illegal narcotics trade and runs the whole trade by engaging peddlers, who are mostly women and children.
Sheik was sent behind the bar many a time under the NDPS act but after remaining three to four months in jail he gets bail.
“Elahi Sheikh smoothly runs the drug business while remaining in jail through his trusted henchmen. Later his trusted henchmen become the drug supplier in Dibrugarh,” a source added.
“Dibrugarh has an old history of the drug trade. Earlier, Cannabis and Opium were largely used by the people but after changing times heroin and brown sugar came into the drug market which has doubled demand in the market.
“Many drug peddlers from Arunachal Pradesh came to Dibrugarh to procured drugs. Brown sugar and heroin were largely brought to Dibrugarh from the Buxar district of Bihar through the train. Dibrugarh is well connected with railway network and the smugglers dealing with drugs take the advantage,” said a source.
During the police investigation, it came to light that they brought the drugs in the pantry car of the train.
“Our crackdown against drugs will continue and we have already located the place and started our operations. So far, we have arrested many drug peddlers and registered cases against them. We need public cooperation to make the society “drug-free”, Dibrugarh Additional SP (HQ) Bitul Chetia said.