MCD seals 24 residential properties used for drug peddling, errant buildings face demolition

The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) has identified and sealed 25 drug trafficking “hotspots” in the city which now face demolition, Raj Niwas officials said on Saturday. Of these, 24 are residential properties.

The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) has identified and sealed 25 “drug trafficking hotspots” in the city which now face demolition, Raj Niwas officials said on Saturday.

Of these, 24 are residential properties. These properties were found to be used for peddling drugs either through the property owners or other occupants, the officials added.

To send a strict message against drug trafficking in the city, Lieutenant-Governor V.K. Saxena on April 27 had directed the agencies concerned to seal properties/buildings that are being used to peddle drugs and begin proceedings to demolish those.

Seven properties have been sealed by the civic body on the recommendations of Delhi Police in Shahdara (North) zone and four each in Central and Narela zones, among others, the officials said.

At the 5th meeting of the State Level Committee of National Narcotics Coordination in April, the L-G had also directed the Transport Department to make necessary provisions to cancel the permits of vehicles used in trafficking drugs. Exhorting the law-enforcement agencies to work in mission mode to fight the menace, the L-G had said that drug trafficking “was not just a petty criminal act, but an international design to weaken the country”.

In May, Delhi Police’s Crime Branch and district units launched ‘Operation Kawach’ to apprehend persons involved in drug trade and consumption.