Pubdate: Mon, 05 Sep 2005 Source: Hindustan Times (India) Copyright: 2005, Hindustan Times Ltd. Contact: http://www.hindustantimes.com Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/910 Author: Sutirtho Patranobis Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/coke.htm (Cocaine) LOUNGE COKEHEADS GET A CALL FROM NARCS Drug-Pushers and addicts, striking deals in those dim-lit lounge bars and high-end restaurants, are under watch. The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), that has been keeping an eye on lounge bars and restaurants in south Delhi, late on Thursday picked up Dev Chopra, a cocaine pusher and addict, from Olive Bar and Kitchen in Mehrauli. Dev, a diploma holder in interior designing, was nabbed with 15 gm of cocaine valued at Rs 60,000 as he was waiting for his customer - a Mumbai-based model, according to information the NCB had. "It was around midnight when we reached the restaurant. About 30 people were still around. Dev was waiting for his customer. This was the first time an Indian has been arrested for peddling cocaine by NCB's Delhi zone," sources said. The owner of the restro-bar, famous for its Italian and Mediterranean cuisine, A.D. Singh, told a TV channel on Friday that it was an "unfortunate incident". He added: "You don't search your customers when they come in. So, how do you know they are carrying drugs on them?" Sunil Khanna, chief operating officer of Olive Bar and Kitchen, said Dev was not a "regular" at the restaurant. "He didn't even have reservation last night," he said. Lounge bars have lately become dens for substance abuse, especially over the weekends, an NCB officer said. Just like the ones in Mumbai. Though the authorities have started clamping down in Mumbai, the Provogue drug case an instance, the party scene in Delhi so far had just been under surveillance. "There are around 25-30 lounge bars in the city. Usually, these places are booked for private parties during the weekends. Bouncers, equipped with phones, are posted at the entrance. Entry is prohibited. Cokeheads In Trouble Our teams could only carry out informal enquiries and find that cocaine is the drug of choice," the officer said. He indicated that some fashion designers and hair-stylists were among the "regular cocaine abusers". The ambience of lounge bars - dim lights, psychedelic setting and small dance floors - suits the cocaine clientele just fine. "The drug has largely moved out of crowded discos and moved into lounge and restro-bars where the atmosphere is more relaxed. Those who are not part of the network - which only exists by word of mouth - find it impossible to break into it," the officer said. NCB also has information that cocaine has found its way into high-end kitty parties. "Recently, we caught the wife of an industrialist with cocaine." Dev, who assists his father in an interior design shop in central Delhi, has been remanded in judicial custody for two weeks. - --- MAP posted-by: Elizabeth Wehrman