Siphoning of seized Alprazolam: Police constable tampered seal, replaced drugs with other powder

Following the seizure, police obtained crucial leads pointing to a larger drug racket. Investigators then zeroed in on a serving constable from the Ahilyanagar police. After gathering concrete evidence of his involvement in the illegal sale of drugs, he was arrested on Wednesday.

The accused constable has been identified as Shyamsundar Gujar (39), who was posted with the Local Crime Branch of the Ahilyanagar police at the time and was assigned duties related to maintaining the inventory of seized items in criminal cases. Gujar was arrested on January 21 and produced before a court in Shirur. With his arrest, the total quantity of crystalline alprazolam seized has gone up to 10.7 kg, including the initial seizure of one kilogram.

Sandeep Singh Gill, Superintendent of Police, Pune Rural, said on Tuesday, “Probe has till now ascertained that constable Gujar while on duty misappropriated the drugs seized in another offence and was selling it the illicit market through the other four accused who have been arrested. As a procedure, seized drugs are logged into the seizure inventory and are sealed as per the court order. And it can only be accessed by personnel and officers authorised to do so. In this case, the seized drugs were logged into the central seizure inventory (muddemal kaksha) of Ahilyanagar police. The arrested constable tampered with the seal took out the drugs and replaced the quality with another powder, investigation has revealed. He had taken out these drugs in December last year.”

Gill added, “We are seeking the court’s permission to open the seal again for the purpose of investigation. We will investigate how much was misappropriated by the constables and how much was left. We will also check if any more drugs were misappropriated other than what we know of. After Gujar took out the drugs, he and other suspects had made a plan to sell the alprazolam in the illegal market and then divide the money. The seized drugs were in crystalline format and they were planning to sell it for Rs 10 to 12 lakh per kilogram but it is valued higher in the international market.”

The Indian Express has earlier reported that Pune Rural police are probing suspected links of the constable within the police machinery, among other crucial leads.

Alprazolam is a prescription anti-anxiety drug belonging to the benzodiazepine category and is commonly misused for its sedative effects. Due to its high potential for abuse and dependence, the drug is regulated under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act in India when possessed or trafficked without valid authorisation.

In a major drug action in May last year, Ahilyanagar police had seized over 69 kg of alprazolam crystal and more than 338 kg of raw materials used for its manufacture. The action followed intelligence inputs on the smuggling of large quantities of drugs from Shrirampur town in Ahilyanagar district.