Cheap adulterated heroin from mini-factories in Delhi flowing back to Punjab

Amritsar/Ferozepur:  Heroin in Punjab that is being sold to drug addicts in the state is of two types while one is called ‘Delhi-Wala-Chitta’ the other is named ‘Pak Border-Wala-Chitta,’ according to police officials and some drug users.

A former drug addict of Serai Amanat Khan village, Gursevak Singh,  reveals that ‘Delhi-Wala-Chitta’ costs less but is adulterated with manufactured chemicals, while ‘Pak Border-Wala-Chitta’ is pure and is costly. “While the former is available at Rs 500 per gram, the latter is priced at Rs 1000 to 1500 per gram,” he claims.

Gursevak Singh, who had been using both types of ‘Chitta’ since 1990, depending on their availability, explains the majority of deaths occur due to impure cheap heroin. It proves fatal if consumed in excess. The pure form of ‘Chitta’ gives the craving addict a higher and a prolonged “kick.” Injectable drugs are prepared from a combination of painkillers and cough syrups procured from unscrupulous chemists operating in the countryside, he says.

Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Swapan Sharma, who has served as SSP, Rural, Amritsar, says over 90 per cent of heroin smuggled into Punjab from Pakistan is “exported” to other states where the consumer base is much larger. Some quantity journeys back to the state after getting mixed with chemicals aimed to bring larger profits to the drug traffickers, Sharma adds.

Sources disclosed that once heroin enters Punjab, it is taken to Delhi, where clandestinely operating micro-factories, mainly in Lajpat Nagar, Jagatpuri, Rajendra Nagar etc, mix it with chemicals to increase its weight. The factory workers make small packets of adulterated heroin in varied quantities for retail sale. This finds its way back to Punjab, also to cater to the not-so-affluent category of addicts.

An anti-drug activist Harkanwal Singh of Jalandhar, informed that the cheap form of ‘Delhi-Wala-Chitta’ is in demand in ‘Bastis’ or ‘Jhuggis’ (settlements of poor) located on fringes of big cities like Jalandhar, Ludhiana, Amritsar, Ferozepur and Bathinda. Maximum drug-related fatalities are reported from these settlements, he claims.

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