Drug addicts turn to painkillers amid Nasha Mukt crackdown in J&K

Srinagar: In response to the intensified Nasha Mukt Abhiyaan crackdown on narcotics in Jammu & Kashmir, drug users and traffickers are increasingly resorting to pharmaceutical opioids, primarily painkillers. "It appears they were combining various painkiller pills to achieve the effect of heroin," a police officer stated. Prescription medicines like Tramadol and Tapentadol, colloquially known as "Tapal," are frequently abused.

Investigations have so far resulted in the seizure of 219,425 tablets and capsules of pharmaceutical drugs, along with 3.830 kg of codeine-containing liquid and the containers used to store them. Since its inception on April 11, the campaign has led to over 4,000 arrests, the seizure of 288 properties, and the registration of 3,257 cases under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act.

The Nasha Mukt Abhiyaan includes awareness drives, the destruction of illicit poppy crops, and random drug testing of drivers. Recently, Srinagar police arrested eight individuals involved in a major network supplying banned pharmaceutical products across J&K. The accused network leader, Haris Hameed Malla, a Srinagar resident, claimed to operate a legitimate pharmaceutical business while posting photos with high-ranking officials.

Malla's Instagram account also featured him alongside Union ministers, the Congress president, and a National Conference MP, falsely claiming to be the editor-in-chief of the "India News Panel."

Malla was arrested during a raid that led to the apprehension of eight others. Zargar, the alleged primary supplier, confessed to the operation during questioning. However, he fled the Valley but was later found in Bengaluru and apprehended. A house and two vehicles were attached to Malla in Srinagar's Old City. Officials noted this case as significant, as locals are increasingly reporting the growing drug menace. In the Maharaj Gunj subdivision of Old City alone, 34 houses have been confiscated over the past few years.