More teenagers into drug abuse

Associated Press

KATHMANDU: Dipendra Prasad Yadav (37), who was arrested with 390 grams of brown sugar on Sunday, revealed that the end users of the narcotic drugs he smuggled to the capital city were college girls and boys. The revelation easily underscores the thriving drug culture among teenagers.

Narcotic Drugs Control Law Enforcement Unit (NDCLEU), New Baneshwor, had arrested Yadav from Kalaiya- 4 of Bara and Harendra Mandal (19) from Kalaiya- 7 of Bara in Kalanki. Mandal was in illegal possession of 50 grams brown sugar when arrested. Mandal is the driver of a Birgunj-Kathmandu bus and Mandal is his helper.

DIG Ganesh Raj Rai, in-charge, NDCLEU, linked drug abuse with crime and said it was creating a new generation with a criminal mindset in urban centers. “Drug abuse is leading the young generation towards criminal activities, both petty and big-time because of the impact on the user’s behavior,” reasoned Rai. “Once you are addicted to drugs and don’t have money to buy it, you will commit offences like robbery, theft and snatching to support the habit, both at home and outside. Police statistics have for long linked drug use with crime. Guardians should be well aware of their children’s activities to prevent drug addiction in them.”

DIG Rai said brown sugar, hashish and diazepam were the most consumed drugs in Kathmandu and their demand was higher in the capital city than in any other part of the country. “School and college students account for a sizeable number drug abusers in Kathmandu. Drug users are more likely than non-users to commit offences and take to the violent path to obtain money to support their addiction.”

Mandal, a drug trafficker, said a Birgunj-based drug dealer had lured him into smuggling brown sugar to Kathmandu with a promise of hefty incentives. “I and Yadav used to ferry the narcotic drug by hiding it inside the vegetable packages to misguide the police,” he revealed. “School and college students were our clients.”

DIG Rai informed that Gorakh Bahadur Gautam (24) from Nijgad- 2 of Bara, who was arrested with 75 grams brown sugar in a separate raid in Kalanki had also narrated the same story. According to Rai, the 515 grams of brown sugar seized from three persons would fetch them more than Rs two million.

However, police are yet to find the source of drugs and their network in Kathmandu and other parts of the country. Racketeers smuggle the drugs to Nepal from India via Raxaul transit before they are distributed to various places. Fuel tankers, buses, cargo trucks and lorries carrying buffaloes are used to smuggle drugs to Kathmandu.

“We are trying to reach the source to dismantle the narcotic network,” said DIG Rai. As per Narcotic Drugs (Control) Act- 1976, a person is liable to face imprisonment of 15 years to life sentence and a fine from Rs 5 to 25 lakhs if found guilty of transaction in any quantity more than 100 grams of brown sugar.