Sri Vijaya Puram, July 11: Police registered two separate FIRs following back-to-back anti-narcotics operations conducted on July 9 and July 10 in Sri Vijaya Puram, resulting in the seizure of 275 grams of methamphetamine and 1.06 kilograms of ganja and the arrest of two persons under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act. The operations were carried out after police acted on specific intelligence indicating that the accused were allegedly carrying narcotic substances for sale.
According to the first FIR, Chatham Police received specific information at around 12.15 pm on July 9 that Vineet Kumar Mondal, 25, a resident of Nayabasti, Bambooflat, was allegedly carrying a contraband substance and looking for customers near Megapode Junction on Seashore Road, Haddo. The information was conveyed to SDPO (South Andaman) Deependra Kumar Singh, following which a raiding team was constituted and dispatched to the location.
Police, accompanied by independent witnesses, traced the suspect near the old BSNL Satellite Office at Megapode Junction. After informing him of his legal rights under Section 50 of the NDPS Act and conducting the search in the presence of the gazetted officer, police recovered a transparent polythene packet containing a white crystalline substance from a shoulder bag carried by the accused.
A preliminary examination using a drug detection kit identified the substance as methamphetamine. The seized contraband weighed 275 grams. Police seized the substance, completed the prescribed legal formalities at the spot and arrested Vineet Kumar Mondal for an offence under Section 22(c) of the NDPS Act. An FIR was subsequently registered at Chatham Police Station and investigation was taken up.
According to the police report, during preliminary questioning, the accused allegedly stated that he had procured the methamphetamine from a person identified only as Hussain of Haddo.
In the second case, the Anti-Narcotics Police Station launched another operation on the night of July 10 after receiving information at around 9.50 pm that Arif Hosen Sekh, 41, a private labourer residing in a rented house at Shaheed Bhagat Singh Colony, Haddo, would be arriving near the parking area adjoining Natural Park while allegedly carrying ganja for a transaction.
The information was reduced into writing and communicated to DySP (Narcotics) Sunil Panchal, who directed the formation of a raiding team and also joined the operation at the spot.
Police intercepted the suspect near the parking area at around 11.10 pm after he was identified by the informer. After informing him of his legal rights under Section 50 of the NDPS Act and carrying out the search in the presence of the gazetted officer, police examined a plastic carry bag in his possession.
The search led to the recovery of a yellow polythene bag containing dry leafy material with flowering tops. A preliminary test using a drug detection kit confirmed the substance to be ganja. The recovered contraband weighed 1.060 kilograms and was seized after completing the prescribed legal formalities in the presence of independent witnesses.
Police arrested Arif Hosen Sekh at the spot under Section 20(b)(ii)(B) of the NDPS Act and informed his brother about the arrest. The search and seizure proceedings were recorded through the E-Sakshya application before the accused and seized articles were taken to the Anti-Narcotics Police Station. A second FIR was registered and the seized property was deposited in the police malkhana in accordance with procedure.
Both cases are under investigation.
