Narcotic Bureau to Use Advanced Narco Analyzers After Getting Govt Nod

Hyderabad: The TS Narcotics Bureau (TS NAB) and the police department are likely to use advanced narco detection kits procured from Germany or Israel that will help in the precise detection of drugs.

According to reliable police sources, the new analysers can detect any drug that is covered under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act — from ganja to cocaine, heroin and LSD — and provide an accurate graph within a very short time, compared to the existing Drager-3000/5000 test or TrueNarc.

The new equipment is said to cost around `1 lakh to `15 lakh each. Officials are waiting for the state government’s approval, which they are confident of getting, said the sources.

Recently, Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy had called upon the police to make Telangana a drug-free state and promised all support, including with finances and logistics, from the government. The Chief Minister also assured the TSNAB that 124 executive officers would be recruited to the force within 30 days, sources disclosed.

“TSNAB should stand as the first among the other agencies in the entire country in drug detection, investigation and conviction, like the Greyhounds and the present SIB,” the Chief Minister said, during a review meeting with heads of police from various branches of the police department on May 25. As Chief Minister, Revanth Reddy visited the Integrated Command and Control Centre of the police at Banjara Hills for the first time.

The state government has sanctioned `40 crore to TSNAB, which has upgraded its logistics and technology with the money.

After getting the government’s go-ahead, the sources said, the TSNAB will intensify on-site checks, and concentrate on collecting hair, blood, nails and urine samples of suspected consumers and spread its network.

The conviction rate in the narcotics cases is abysmally low, the use of the new equipment for the quick and precise identification of drugs would help in the arrest of a consumer during spot checks and track the chain upwards.

Sources said that the Chief Minister had suggested that they identify the peddler, transporter, bulk supplier, detect the nexus with other counties where the synthetic drugs are being smuggled from.

He also assured them that the state government would support them through all means, which could speed up detection, arrests, and conviction rates, the sources disclosed.