'The tablet also increases the sexual capacity of a person and that is why youth seek it. However, if consumed continuously, it can destroy the body within a year,' Yusuf Merchant, president of the Drug Abuse Information Rehabilitation and Research Centre, told IANS.

'It can result in rapid heart rate, high blood pressure and damage of blood vessels in the brain.'

More common in rave parties in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and other metros, Yaba finds its way into India through Bangladesh, according to NCB officials.

'Yaba is smuggled from Bangladesh and Myanmar to Kolkata. From there it is supplied to other parts of the country,' an official told IANS.

An official of the police's intelligence unit here said: 'The areas where such banned drugs are sold include Nakkhas, Charbagh, Alambagh and some other localities of old Lucknow.

'We also have information about some drug peddlers, who are active near farmhouses and hotels on the city's outskirts.'

The city cops had in the recent past arrested many people, including Nepali nationals, with narcotics.

'Over 50 people, including Nepali nationals and women, have been arrested with narcotics like heroin and cocaine,' police spokesperson Alok Pathak said.

(Rajat Rai can be contacted at rajat.r@ians.in)