Pune: Youths in Pune are caught in the clutches of narcotics. The drug mafia Lalit Patil escape case, the hit-and-run case and the recent drug party case are indications. These are alarm bells for Pune.
Narcotics worth Rs 13 crore were seized in the nine months last year in the city by the Crime Branch. It was the biggest seizure in the country.
Mephedrone weighing 1,700 kg amounting to Rs 3,500 crore was seized in Kurkumbh, Delhi, Sangli and other places in raids by the police in the Lalit Patil drugs racket. On Sunday, drugs were consumed in the washroom of L3 pub on Fergusson College Road. It appears that the police have not been successful in breaking the supply chain, manufacturing and distribution of drugs.
Youths are getting addicted to drugs due to rising unemployment. Earlier, they used to consume opium, ganja, cocaine, etc. Now, they are taking mephedrone (MD), LSD stamp, MDMA, mushroom, etc.
Police actions point to rising smuggling of narcotics in the city. They confiscated LSD stamps worth Rs 1.25 crore last year. Students from renowned city colleges were caught while using LSD. The police started focusing on drug smugglers. They seized narcotics worth over Rs 7.14 crore in 2022. They seized drugs valued at Rs 13 crore in nine months in 2023, which was a record.
Why does police action slow down?
The police conducted a drive to break the drug distribution chain after the drug mafia Lalit Patil case came to light. Following the hit-and-run case, they provided a list of illegal pubs to the civic administration. Action was taken against some pubs but it slowed down after a month. Puneites want to know why action slows down after some time.
Online supply of drugs
In this digital age, drugs are also supplied online. Code words are used on social media to buy and sell them. The police are keeping a watch on social media. They are taking action too. Even after all this, how narcotics are supplied is a puzzle. The police do not have any answer to this question.
71 arrests this year
The police arrested 183 in 135 drug smuggling cases last year. Till May end this year, 71 accused have been arrested in 46 cases.
The biggest action on mephedrone in Pune
The biggest action was taken against mephedrone worth over Rs 3 crore in the city. Later, opium and cocaine were seized.
Important cases in Pune
2022: Narcotics worth over Rs 4.75 crore seized by 21 police stations under the Police Commissionerate were destroyed in the furnace of MEPL company at Ranjangaon. They included ganja, MD, cocaine, charas, poppy seeds, heroin, etc.
2023: The Crime Branch of the City Police seized 1.75-kg MD at the main gate of the Sassoon Hospital. The police raids started due to the Lalit Patil case.
2024: Mephedrone valued at Rs 300 crore was seized at the MIDC, Kupwad in Sangli district. Later, the Pune Police confiscated 1,700-kg MD amounting to Rs 3,500 crore by raiding various places in Pune, Kurkumbh, Delhi, etc. It was being manufactured in a unit at the MIDC, Kurkumbh. The contraband was directly sent to London through courier. Action was then launched at the national level against drug smugglers.
Action by Pune Police under NDPS Act
Year / Value of seized drugs
2019 – Rs 3.81 crore
2020 – Rs 1.95 crore
2021 – Rs 2.58 crore
2022 – Rs 7.14 crore
2023 – Rs 13.61 crore
2024 (till May end) – Over Rs 3,500 crore
