Bengaluru Police have finally found a way to dispose of seized drugs, by incinerating them at a private firm near Magadi, 60 kms from the city.
Police officials admitted that till now, disposal of narcotics had not been carried out in a systematic manner, due to lack of proper incinerators.
But it appears they have now found a way to solve this problem by turning to a private firm which has the machinery required to burn the seized drugs at high temperatures.
“The Pollution Control Board suggested 10 locations at different areas of Bengaluru where we could dispose narcotic substances and we selected the place near Magadi. An official from the pollution board accompanied us when we went to the facility. With the help of the people operating the machinery there, we loaded the seized drugs onto it and saw to it that the drugs were destroyed. At no point are the drugs handed over to anyone,” clarified Ram Nivas Sepat, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Crime Division.
When asked how the police department dealt with drugs earlier, he said that there was no systematic city-wide manner in which drugs were destroyed. “The drugs were destroyed at the station-level but it is only now we have come up with this solution. It has been coming for a year now as we had formed a committee to address this issue,” he said.
“The drugs are incinerated at temperatures over 1,000 degrees Celsius now,” said Sepat.
But, there is no record of the exact quantity of drugs held by the police department. Police have set up a dedicated narcotic storage room at the city police commissioner’s office on Infantry Road to address this issue. A narcotic inventory will be kept with police officials ensuring that the quantity of drugs seized are accounted for, at the various police stations in the city.
Until now, the police department weighed and kept the seized drugs at the police station itself in sealed packets that noted the quantity of drugs stored and date of seizure.
The District Drug Disposal Committee headed by Deputy Commissioner of Police Kushalendra Kumar will periodically review the seized narcotic substances. After permission is granted by the court, the seized substances are cleared to be destroyed.
