CHANDIGARH, May 5 — Sector-39 police station jurisdiction has recorded the highest number of narcotics cases in the city over the past five years, with authorities grappling to contain a drug network that is becoming more organized, mobile, and harder to track.
Between 2020 and April 2025, 85 cases under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act were registered in areas under the Sector-39 police station—more than any other police jurisdiction in Chandigarh.
The majority of these cases have originated from Sector 38-A, Sector 38-C, and the four-storey housing blocks in Sector 56 (Palsora), police records show.
A large proportion of the accused belong to the Sansi tribe, originally from Rajasthan. “Almost 98% of those arrested in these cases come from the Sansi community,” a senior police officer confirmed, underlining the demographic concentration.
The area includes Sectors 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 54, 55, and 56, and has remained a persistent contributor to the city’s drug case figures: 22 cases in 2020, 21 in 2022, 16 in 2023, and eight cases already registered in 2025 as of April, suggesting that narcotic circulation in the zone continues largely unabated.
Sector-31 police station follows closely with 71 NDPS cases, while Sector-36 stands third with 63 cases in the same period.
What has raised concern among investigators is the changing modus operandi of drug traffickers. Unlike earlier street-level transactions, many operations now hinge on phone-based coordination and contactless deliveries, often carried out by women who lead the networks discreetly.
“Earlier, buyers would walk into homes. Now, one call and the deal is done in a market or parking lot,” the officer said.
The shift has forced law enforcement to rethink its strategy. In 2024, Chandigarh Police intensified action against escape routes often used by peddlers in Sector 38.
Officers deployed JCB machines to block narrow alleys, dug up potential getaways, and installed fencing around vulnerable spots.
However, traffickers continue to evolve. Many have installed CCTV cameras outside their homes to monitor police activity and evade arrests.
“We’ve made the area almost impenetrable by conventional means, but they have gotten smarter,” the officer added. “Now they use scooters, move quickly to city markets, and complete transactions away from home turf.”
To counter the tactics, police have begun stationing naka points near suspected homes, backed by round-the-clock surveillance and foot patrols. The goal is to cut off local distribution while mapping wider connections across the city.
Despite these efforts, heroin remains the most seized narcotic from the area, and the challenges show little sign of abating. With evolving methods and shifting operations, authorities say the fight is now less about containment and more about anticipation.
As the problem escalates, the Sector-39 belt—particularly the densely populated colonies in Sector 38 and Palsora—continues to be the city’s critical front line in its battle against narcotics.
