Growing involvement of cops in drug business, experts explain the whys and hows

While for most, the involvement of a police constable in a drug syndicate unearthed recently has come as a shock, the reality is that the police-contraband nexus is touching new heights of embarrassment for the police department. From seizure of drugs from a policeman to drugs caught in a police vehicle and now reaching the police station itself, narcotic substances have made their way to the very places no one would have thought of searching — in the porous nooks and corners of the department itself. Senior officers say it is the quick money that attracts policemen in this murky business.

How do cops get involved in drug trade?

Former IPS officer-turned-lawyer YP Singh says it is the informers and criminals who open the gates to the world of narcotics for policemen. "When the police are in contact with criminals, through them, they get to know the dynamics of the trade and the main operators," he adds.

What lures them to it?

"As narcotics generally demand high premium, stakes too are high in the narcotics wing. Our people, because of the lucre, get lured in it. Also, the whole narcotics wing doesn't come too much in the public eye and operations are hidden, which gives them an opportunity to operate clandestinely," says IPS officer Sanjay Pandey. Pandey had worked with the Anti-Narcotics Cell (ANC) in 1996.

Why's it not easy to catch them?

Another senior police officer, on the condition of anonymity, says, "Dealing is narcotics is feasible. It is not like gold bars, heavy and conspicuous. A small packet of contraband worth lakhs of rupees in the international market can be easily concealed, and if a policeman is involved in drug trade, it becomes all the more difficult to nab him/her. There have been cases wherein only a part of the seized drugs were shown by officers and the rest smuggled in the drug market by them."

Singh says it is more profitable for a police officer to become a trader (in drugs) that to share the profit. "If you closely watch operations of every department, you will find officials in each of them themselves being involved in corrupt practices. For instance, BMC engineers are themselves found to be developers, customs officers are importers, and in case of the police, many officers are indulging in drug trade. They get a better knowledge of the system and hence can violate law without getting detected," he explains.

How can the nexus be nipped in the bud?

"The police department should keep a close vigil on its officers and constabulary. Only people with high level of integrity should be posted with the narcotics wing and strict action should be taken against corrupt practices. There is a general tendency in every department to protect a corrupt subordinate, and this emboldens the subordinate," says Singh.
 

CASE STUDIES

Drug traders in khaki and their modus operandi

The doc from Kochi pilfered heroin 

IPS officer Saji Mohan (2009)

The first instance that exposed the police-contraband nexus in the city came to light in January 2009.

"We had received specific information that heroin dealing would taken place in a restaurant in Oshiwara. A trap was laid and two people — a businessman named Vicky Oberoi and a constable, Rajesh Kumar, from Haryana — were caught. They claimed that they had got the contraband from a senior officer. We then stumbled upon 1995 batch IPS officer from Jammu & Kashmir cadre Saji Mohan," said an officer from the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS).

Mohan, who hails from Kochi in Kerala, had joined Enforcement Directorate in the state as deputy director weeks before he was caught by the ATS.

Further probe opened a can of worms. The ATS, in its investigation, found out that Mohan was circulating part of a large heroin consignment seized by the Chandigarh Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), which he had retained with himself. Mohan had served in the Chandigarh NCB as zonal director in the 2006-08 period, during which he and his team busted several drug rings.

Following this, the Chandigarh NCB launched its own investigation, and in March 2009, Mohan and four others were booked on the charge of pilfering heroin from unclaimed seizures lying in the storeroom of the NCB zonal headquarters there.

It was alleged that Mohan had mixed slaked lime in the drug, keeping the 'pure' contraband aside for personal gains, which he would hand over to a drug smuggler from Jammu, sources said.

Son of an ex-army officer, Saji Mohan was a veterinary doctor and made it to IPS in 1995. He was posted in terrorist-infested J&K for 10 years, before he joined the NCB in Chandigarh. He had got the President's Award for gallantry and was even sent on United Nations duty for two years.

He never realised his brown sugar buyer was a police informer

DySP Ashok Dhavle (2011)

Deputy superintendent of police Ashok Dhavle, a law graduate who was posted with Protection of Civil Rights (PCR) office, was caught by the city crime branch with 1.5kg brown sugar. The police had also arrested his associate Amarsingh Dilipsingh, a Std X dropout and also known as Kashmiri in drug circles.

Dhavle had came in contact with Dilipsingh during his posting at the Anti-Narcotics Cell. Singh had become a police informer and was said to be instrumental in giving several tip-offs about drug runners.

Police sources said Dhavle had invested Rs10 lakh in purchasing drugs and was looking to make a profit of Rs5 lakh. "He had sent Dilipsingh to Rajasthan to bring the contraband via train. The narcotics were brought from Jammu & Kashmir via Rajasthan and the original source was suspected to be Pakistan," said a police officer.

They had fixed the dealing with a woman in Worli and drugs were brought by them in a police vehicle, a Tavera jeep. As soon as they got out of the vehicle, they were apprehended.

Sources claimed that the woman to whom the consignment was to be given was an informer and had tipped off the police about the consignment. "It was a well-laid trap, Dhavle never realised that the receiver was the one who told on him," a source said.

Interestingly, Dhavle was also caught by excise officials in Vikhroli, when he had smuggled huge quantity of illicit liquor in a police vehicle a few years ago. He was placed under suspension and was reinstated later and posted at PCR.

A trap had been laid for the opium-trader cop at Masjid Bunder

J&K police assistant sub-inspector (February 2015)

The Anti-Narcotics Cell (ANC) of the city police had arrested Mohammad Shafi Ghulam Mohammad Hajam, 50, a resident of Bandipura and an assistant sub-inspector with the Jammu & Kashmir (J&K) police, and his associate Ruksana Abdul Masjid Bihari, 34, with eight kilogrammes of opium worth Rs9.60 lakh.

According to ANC officers, they had received specific information that Hajam would be selling a consignment of opium to Bihari at Masjid Bunder. A trap was laid and the duo was apprehended.

Apart from the contraband, an airline ticket receipt, Aadhaar card and an ID card of J&K police was seized from Hajam. Interrogation revealed that one Ghulam Nabi, a peddler from J&K, had given the consignment to Hajam, who was to sell it to Bihari.

His office cupboard and home housed M-Cat

Marine Drive police station constable (March 2015)

On March 9, the Satara police seized 110kg M-Cat, whose market value runs into "crores of rupees", from the house of constable Dharmaraj Kalokhe attached with the Marine Drive police station. The drug, popularly known as meow meow, was recovered from his residence in a village under Khandala taluka in Satara district.

The next day, the Mumbai police inspected Kalokhe's locked cupboard at the police station and discovered 12kg of white translucent crystal, suspected to be M-Cat, and some quantity of opium.

Mumbai police commissioner Rakesh Maria had then ordered for Kalokhe's dismissal. Also, senior inspector of Marine Drive police station Pravin Chinchalkar was transferred to the special branch of city police in the wake of the seizure. Kalokhe's partner and drug runner Baby Patankar has been on the run since his arrest.

Kalokhe was brought to the city late on Tuesday night and will be produced in court for police remand.