Region is becoming a drug haven
http://www.tribuneindia.com/2008/20080921/edit.htm#1
A Tribune Special
Region is becoming a drug haven
Our Deputy Editor Amar Chandel writes on the spectre of addictionPunjab has been in the grip of paralysing drug addiction for quite some time. To make matters worse, a new dimension has been added to this menace. The ever-increasing haul of heroin shows that the state has become the main transit point for the drug coming from Afghanistan via Pakistan. From Punjab, it finds its way to major cities like Delhi and Mumbai, besides Nepal, and is also smuggled to western countries. Being prohibitively expensive, heroin is hardly used in Punjab, where opium, poppy husk and smack rule the roost.
If only 10 kg of heroin was seized in 2004 and 20 kg in 2005, the figure was as high as 128 kg in 2007. Amritsar district topped the list with 51 kg heroin, while Ludhiana yielded 46 kg. This year, the total seizures are set to be much higher. On the one hand, this is the sign of the good work being done by the enforcement agencies. On the other, it also shows a big jump in the smuggling activities.
Continue Reading: – http://www.tribuneindia.com/2008/20080921/edit.htm#1
