Tamil Nadu - Tiruchi   

NCB to open intelligence cell in Hyderabad soon

TIRUCHI: The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), South Zone unit, will shortly set up its new regional intelligence cell in Hyderabad to track illegal drug trade in Andhra Pradesh and mount surveillance on those involved in it.

The regional intelligence cells of the NCB, South Zone, which has jurisdiction over the four southern States and the Union Territories of Puducherry and Lakshadweep, have been functioning in Chennai and Thiruvananthapuram.

The Hyderabad cell, which is expected to function in a month, will be manned by a Superintendent and four Intelligence Officers, who will report to the Zonal Director of NCB, South Zone unit, Chennai.

Besides enforcement works and coordination with other enforcement agencies, the cell will study the pattern of drug trade in Andhra Pradesh, the modes of trafficking and the extent of seizure and identify potential areas of narcotic trade, S. Davidson Devasirvatham, Zonal Director, NCB, South Zone unit, told The Hindu here.

The need for a cell in Hyderabad was felt, since Andhra Pradesh was a major ganja producing area, besides having many chemical and pharmaceuticals industries, he said.

In addition to sensitising the police, the Customs and Central Excise, the Central Industrial Security Force and the Forest Department to the modus operandi of traffickers, the NCB South Zone unit has been compiling a computerised database of those involved in drug trade for several years, including those from Sri Lanka.

In the past six months, 20 kg of heroin had been seized by various agencies, including the NCB, at the airports in Chennai, Bangalore and Hyderabad. With security tightened along the coastal areas in Tamil Nadu, the traffickers prefer the air route to smuggle narcotics, he said.

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