Three Drug Traffickers Get 15-Year Rigorous Imprisonment in Guwahati

Those indulging in organised drug trafficking shall face no sympathy from the court. The menace of narcotics must be dealt with an iron hand to safeguard the youth and protect society at large: Court

Staff Reporter

GUWAHATI: A Special Judge Court for NDPS (Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances) sentenced each of the three individuals convicted of drug trafficking to 15 years of Rigorous Imprisonment (RI) and stated that "those indulging in organised drug trafficking shall face no sympathy from the court. The menace of narcotics must be dealt with an iron hand to safeguard the youth and protect society at large."

According to reports from the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) in Guwahati, on October 14, 2020, the NCB Guwahati Zonal Unit seized 2.146 kg of methamphetamine tablets on VIP Road, Six Mile, which were found with three people: Shakil Khan and Md. Yahiya Khan from Manipur and Mithilesh Kumar from Bihar.

A case was opened under the NDPS Act, 1985, with the number NCB Guwahati Crime No. 13/2020, and the NCB Guwahati Zonal Unit arrested the three accused individuals. After completion of effective investigation, a complaint was filed on April 8, 2021.

According to NCB officials, the judgement reaffirmed the judiciary's firm stand that drug trafficking is a grave offence against the community and calls for stringent measures to dismantle the network that fuel the drug menace. The NCB also appealed to the general public to report drug trafficking through the MANAS Helpline - 1933.

According to sources, drug traffickers continue to supply drugs unabated to their target consumers, including school boys, even as the war against drugs frequently yields huge seizures.  The worst is that several school dropout boys in the state are in the grip of drugs. Two days ago, the police arrested 21 addicted youths from the ISBT campus at Khanapara. The police sent them to drug rehabilitation centres.

A senior NCB official said, "Bodily and behavioural changes that occur when a youth starts taking drugs are indicators of addiction. Parents need to observe such changes, if any, in their wards. We are in the job of preventing drugs from entering the state. However, since the drug menace has reached the grassroots level, the police alone cannot root it out. The parents have to play their role in that regard."

The official said that an offshoot of drug menace is the rise in petty crimes. "When a youth doesn't get money to buy drugs, he becomes restless and doesn't hesitate to commit crimes. We have examples of many drug addicts admitting such crimes they have committed."

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