220 drug addicts shifted to hospitals for rehabilitation

PESHAWAR: In a massive crackdown in the provincial capital on Sunday, 220 drug addicts were shifted to hospitals for treatment and rehabilitation while 24 alleged dealers were held for selling ice and other narcotics.

Chief Minister Mahmood Khan also took notice of the sale and use of drugs and ordered an action against the dealers and the shifting of the addicts to hospitals for treatment and rehabilitation.

“We have launched a crackdown against the drug dealers. On Sunday, 24 people were arrested for selling ice, heroin, hashish and other drugs.

Besides, police along with other departments have shifted over 220 addicts from different parts of Peshawar to hospitals for treatment and rehabilitation,” Capital City Police Officer Qazi Jamilur Rehman told The News.

The official said women were also among the drug addicts shifted to hospitals. “We launched the Ice-Free Peshawar Campaign last year.

The efforts to rehabilitate the addicts and take action against drug dealers have been accelerated,” he added.

After Peshawar, Mardan is the district where action has taken against the drug dealers in recent months. A special campaign is also underway in Mardan and many other districts against dealers of ice, heroin, hashish and other drugs.

“We have busted some of the top rings involved in manufacturing and smuggling of ice, heroin and other drugs to different parts of the country. A gang smuggling drugs to Saudi Arabia through luggage of pilgrims was also busted recently,” District Police Officer Mardan Sajjad Khan told The News.

He added that an awareness campaign was also underway in Mardan. The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government recently drafted a new law to go after the dealers and smugglers of ice. Under the proposed law, anyone possessing over a kilogram of the synthetic drug ice can be punished to death or imprisoned for life.

The law was a longstanding demand of the law-enforcement agencies that were taking action against dealers and smugglers of the ice.

“The proposed draft says that no one shall produce, manufacture, extract, possess, offer for sale, purchase, distribute, deliver on any terms whatsoever, transport, dispatch methamphetamine (also called ice) except for medical, scientific or industrial purpose in the manner and subject to conditions, as may be specified by the government,” stated the draft bill of law that is likely to be passed soon.

The draft proposed death sentence, imprisonment for life or imprisonment for a term which may extend to 14 years and with a fine up to Rs1 million if the quantity of the methamphetamine carried or possessed by anyone exceeded one kilogram.It proposed up to 10 years imprisonment for over 100 grams to less than one kilogram and seven years imprisonment for carrying less than 100 grams of ice.