Drug-free capital: It’s business as usual for city’s narcotics dealers

Officials say police too occupied with other tasks to mount an aggressive campaign.

LAHORE: The City police have yet to take action against drug peddlers in connection with the ‘drug free city campaign’ launched by the capital city police officer (CCPO) on January 15.

Talking to The Express Tribune, several drug peddlers said their trade was going on despite the announcement.

Superintendent of police (city division) Dr Shahzad Asif admitted that no one had yet been arrested in connection with the campaign. He said the police had been busy with security duties for the chehlum of Hazrat Imam Hussain (RA) and urs of Hazrat Ali Hajveri.

CCPO Aslam Tareen on Monday held a meeting with Anti Narcotics Force director general Syed Shakeel Hussain in connection with the campaign. Tareen said the police would use all means to cleanse the city of drug trade.

However, a well placed police official, on condition of anonymity, said the “drug free city” campaign was not a priority right now. To a question about policemen’s involvement, he expressed ignorance and said that there might be some lower level officials colluding with drug sellers.

A confessed drug peddler, who said he worked from near Gowalmandi, told the Tribune that he did not expect a crack down in near future. “Why would the police want to ruin the trade when we are sharing our profits with them,” he said.  He said he was paying Rs400 per day to the police. He said areas around the shrines of Data Sahib, Bibian Pak Daman and Madhu Lal Hussain were some of the spots where the trade was particularly fast.

Another drug peddler, who said he operated near Pathi Ground, Lakshmi Chowk, said he had not yet faced any problem in supplying drugs to his clients.

He said hashish, opium and heroine were the most popular drugs in the city.

He said that the price of 25g hashish was between Rs2,000 and Rs2,500, of 25g heroine around Rs6,000 and of 10g opium Rs800. Besides areas around popular shrines, he said, drug trade went on in Lohari Gate, Chauburji, Sherakot, Kahna, Bund Road and Minar-i-Pakistan.

Tauheed Khan, a drug addict, said whenever he needed to make a purchase he contacted a seller via phone and setup a spot meeting. “It’s a brief meeting. We normally agree on a place with lots of people around so that we are not suspected,” he said. He said sometimes drug sellers used beggars to supply drugs. “They give a small quantity to the beggars and stand nearby to keep a watch on them,” he said. In a meeting on January 15, CCPO Muhammad Aslam Tareen had directed the superintendents of police (SPs) of all city divisions to launch a campaign to rid the city of drugs.

The CCPO had formed six teams (one for every division) headed by the respective SPs. Other members included the sub-divisional police officers (SDPOs) and the station house officers (SHOs).

Published in The Express Tribune, January 29^th,  2011.