• Backed by certain quarters, crackdown on drugs, gutka, mainpuri in full swing
• Recent sacking of three SSPs said to be linked with ongoing action
• IG Odho claims supply of drugs and banned items has been curtailed
• Says SHOs ‘mixed-up with narcotics dealers’ will certainly go

A SUDDEN flurry of activity by police, though much awaited, is being seen in Sindh to take on those dealing in the infamous narcotics trade. The actions are largely seen in major urban centres. While the action is indeed appreciable, it remains enigmatic too.

Investigations and background conversations by Dawn with senior government sources reveal different theories behind the ongoing exercise.

People with authority both in civilian and non-civilian set-ups confide to Dawn, on condition of anonymity, that the Sindh police have been “pushed” by the powers that be to tackle the issue of narcotics trade, tobacco, gutka, safina, mainpuri, ‘ice’ or crystal meth (methamphetamine), seriously.

Linking the recent removal of the SSPs of Sanghar, Thatta and Umerkot districts from their respective posts with the ongoing action, they said that sleuths of an intelligence agency had picked up an accountant of SSP-Sanghar office along with some suspected dealers.

However, the transfer notifications remained silent about the reason, but a top-ranking official has confirmed that an internal inquiry was underway against one of the two officers.

“As for theories, one is, the powers that be want the police to curb it, for the cross-border trade is a potential source for terror financing of banned outfits in Balochistan who seek to destabilise the country. Another one indicates this campaign may have political reasons,” notes a senior official, who is privy to government-level interaction for quite some time.

The third theory indicates that the police leadership has been told that drugs trade can bring weapons to Sindh thus needs to be crushed, the official says.

“The smuggled products from Afghanistan and Iran end up in Balochistan to head for Sindh where centres like Karachi and Hyderabad serve as big markets. Balochistan has no such prospects for either drugs or gutka, mainpuri. So, the boys rightly believe if supply is curbed, it [the trade] will drop,” he adds.

“This is what is seen”, he continues, “in Karachi, where the trade has declined by 80pc through these steps, for this purpose, the SHOs, that were believed to be part of the trade or patronising it, have been removed,” says the officer.

In Karachi, another senior official says, around 17-18 SHOs have been shown the door.

“Names of SHOs are now recommended by an Additional IG-led committee with three DIGs as members. Policemen with no criminal record, corruption-related suspension, having best communication skills and experience of thana are recommended to SSPs concerned for posting. It can be replicated elsewhere in Sindh,” he adds.

It was against this backdrop that the police started coming down heavily on sale/supply of narcotics in major urban centres, including Hyderabad, which is considered a “goose that lays golden eggs for policemen”.

Since this black economy is undocumented exact numbers of earnings couldn’t be determined, but the scale of banned trade shows it involves huge amounts of money shared right from bottom to top levels.

“Millions exchange hands on a weekly basis here. It has enabled officers to invest in foreign destinations, filling stations, real estate, etc, through their buddies,” quips another police officer, who knows in and out of the business. “Hardly, a district level police officer can be mentioned who avoided the charm of this earning,” he claims.

“That’s why,” says an officer, “some SHOs were glued to particular police stations for a long time due to their political backings”.

There are several police stations in Karachi, Hyderabad and other parts of the province which are considered lucrative.

Published in Dawn, May 11th, 2026