ISLAMABAD: Sale of Illicit Drugs in the slums of the federal capital continues unabated as drug peddlers find safety in these areas.
The illicit drug selling has mushroomed under the nose of the police special branch office in sector G-7.
The alleged involvement of the police force in the drug trade has allowed users to freely purchase the drugs.
One can easily observe the growing numbers of drug addicts in and around the slums of G-7, France Colony in F-7, and H-9, but the local police seems to have shut its eyes to the issue.
A man with the alias Feeka told Pakistan Today that he has been a drug addict for the past seven years.
“Earlier I used to stay in the Sabzi Mandi sheds but since eight months I have migrated to G-7. All I need is available here,” he said adding that he also sells a couple of packets of marijuana in a day to earn some profit and use it to buy drugs for his personal consumption.
A police official confided that a group of drug peddlers are smuggling various drugs from Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Punjab to quarter number 66 in G-7, allegedly in connivance with the local police.
The residents claim that it is impossible to sell drugs in these slums without getting the local police involved in this lucrative trade.
Ahmed Abdullah, a resident of sector G-7/1 said that the locals of Kachi Abadi grease the palms of Aabpara police and obtain cover.
“It’s not rocket science,” he said.
It is important to mention here that marijuana was found to be the most commonly used drug in Pakistan as 3.6 percent of the adult population, or four million people, are listed as users according to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime report (UNODC).
There are more than 40 illegal and unauthorised slums in the capital which creates a serious security threat. Non-registration of residents there is one of the key reasons that explain a rise in street crime within the federal capital.
Station House Officer (SHO) Aabpara Chaudhary Rasheed told Pakistan Today that “In a short span of two months, the Aabpara police have registered more than 44 cases against the drug peddlers”.
He said that he has arrested 51 persons involved in this illicit trade which has cost the lives of hundreds of youngsters due to drug use.
However, the officer did not rule out the allegation that drug trade has increased in the slums. The police have identified some individuals involved in this business and appropriate actions would be taken soon, he added.
Islamabad police have had to increase cooperation with other security agencies against organised drug peddlers.