Chennai: “I screwed up my life,” was the first reaction of the 50-year-old CEO of a publishing firm, Sanjiv Bhatnagar, when nabbed by the narcotics control bureau (NCB) a couple of days back. He was embarrassed about himself when caught with cocaine.Though he claimed that he was using it for last six months, employees of a courier firm from where he used to pick up the dope said he was regularly receiving parcels for the last one year. The NCB team feels that it is possible that he was an addict from a young age.
“Of course, he had screwed up. He is repenting his mistake. But it is too late for him to realise his mistake. He was having a decent job with a salary of Rs 3 lakh per month and a happy family and a good life. He is married to a publishing consultant in Chennai after his first wife – with child - got separated from him and decided to settle in USA. Now, it will take some time for him to get out of the legal mess,” an NCB official said, adding that it was rare for them to nab end-users of narcotics.
His wife, belonging to Bengaluru, was not even aware that he was picked up by NCB sleuths for possession of cocaine. She also told this newspaper that she was not aware of his drug-chasing habits. She married Sanjiv, a resident of Delhi, and they were living in Chennai for last one year after their marriage.
The NCB team had arrested two African nationals operating as agents of cocaine supply chain controlled from Mumbai in the last two months in Chennai. They used to deliver the dope at the doorsteps of the customers.
These cocaine agents were much in demand among upscale drug addicts. One gram cocaine costs around Rs 5,000 in the market, another officer noted. Sanjiv Bhatnagar was caught while collecting his parcel containing 3.88 gm of drug worth over Rs 20,000 from a courier firm on Walltax Road. He claimed it was for his personal use and NCB officers feel he was not selling it around. He had told investigators he had met his cocaine agent in a rave party in Bengaluru.
