Ignorant cops seek help from NCB for further investigation.
Magic mushrooms? What’s that? That’s the response of the city police since not many know that it is a banned drug under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act. The very first case of nabbing a drug peddler in possession of the substance has left the police in the dark over how to proceed with the case.
The Narcotics Wing of the Central Crime Branch (CCB) did register a case, but they are now running from pillar to post to ascertain the chemical composition of ‘magic mushroom’ for further investigations.
On Sunday, the CCB police arrested 23-year-old Alex Thomas on Indiranagar 100 Ft Road for selling the psychotropic drug and with LSD (Lysergic Acid Diethylamide) blotting paper, worth around Rs20,000.
The police sent the substances to the Forensic Science Lab (FSL) in Madivala for confirmation. FSL confirmed that the ‘magic mushroom’ contained a psychotropic substance called psilocybin, which is illegal in India.
But the police, who are chancing upon the substance for the first time, are not aware that it is banned in India.
After the police registered a case against Thomas, they did not know how to proceed with the investigation as they were ignorant about this substance.
Hence, they did the next best thing. They contacted NCB officials, who have now promised them help in investigating the case further, said a CCB
official.
A NCB official said that possession and sale of ‘magic mushroom’ are illegal in India and the police can register a case against such persons under the provision of NDPS Act.
Poor training
The CCB police admitted that their predicament arises because of poor training about narcotics and psychotropic drugs.
Joint commissioner of police for crime (east) B Dayananda, however, denied lack of training among the police. “We have trained our staff and they have also sufficient equipment such as drug identification kits. We also sent seized drugs to the FSL for confirmation and will take legal action after the FSL report is submitted,” he said. The police said Thomas is a student and a drug addict. He was peddling drugs to make a quick buck.
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