Drugs peddlers in Delhi are duping buyers by adding paracetamol and other cheap pharmaceutical medicines in order to sell expensive narcotic materials at a cheap rate, says Narcotic Control Bureau of Delhi Police. The recent seizures in Delhi have revealed that almost all the narcotic drugs bought in Delhi are adulterated and can cause immediate damage to the body.
“A lot of the heroin we seized in the last couple of years was found to be adulterated with Paracetamol and Alprazolam. Peddlers dupe the buyers by selling the adulterated drugs at the same rate as the pure samples and the mixture often gives a greater kick,” a senior official of Delhi’s Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) told DNA India. According to the NCB data for 2017, over 8,000kg of various drugs were seized by Delhi Police.
One of the major reasons why drugs are being adulterated in Delhi is because of the huge profits made by the dealers as the cost of adulterants is much lower than that of pure narcotic substances. “Cocaine is very expensive. One gram of cocaine costs around ten thousand. But in Delhi, one can buy it ranging from three to four thousand. Any kind of steroid is mixed with cocaine. Besides steroids, Paracetamol such as Crocin or D-Cold Total tablets are used to sell the product in cheap rate,” a drug peddler who operates in Delhi’s Taimoor Nagar said.
Studies reveal that mixing of cocaine or heroin with sedatives poses greater hazards to health than a single drug. Mixing can lead to an overdose, thereby causing deeper complications, causing all-organ breakdown and even death.
In Delhi, one can easily find drugs and other narcotic substances like cocaine, hash, marijuana and opium in places like Taimoor Nagar, Pahadjang, Malkaganj Chowk and even within the college campuses. Most of these adulterated drugs come from places like Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Bihar through inter-state buses.
“The private inter-state bus operators are also part of this racket who supply drugs from one state to another. They transport materials and get paid accordingly,” the drug peddler said.
“It is all about the mindset. If you tell them that it is drugs and give them adulterated material, they will enjoy it and consider it to be in its purest form. Actually, in Delhi, it’s very difficult to find unadulterated drugs. Every person in Delhi starts with adulterated drugs so therefore they are easily duped by the peddlers,” said, Dr Akbar Hussain, Professor at Department of Psychology of Jamia Millia Islamia. He claimed that after a point of time, drug addicts prefer adulterated drugs as it reacts immediately as compared to pure forms.