118 more drug smugglers arrested on day 12 of ‘war against drugs’
On day 12 of the ‘war against drugs’, Punjab Police on Wednesday conducted raids at 543 locations, leading to the arrest of 118 drug smugglers after the registration of 71 FIRs across the state. With this, the number of total drug smugglers arrested has reached to 1,658 in just 12 days.
Police teams have also recovered 994 grams of heroin, 4,633 intoxicant tablets/pills/injections, and Rs 1.47 lakh in drug money from the possession of arrested drug smugglers.
The operation was conducted on the directions of Director General of Police (DGP) Punjab Gaurav Yadav simultaneously in all 28 police districts of the state.
Notably, CM Bhagwant Mann has asked the Commissioners of Police, Deputy Commissioners, and Senior Superintendents of Police to make Punjab a drug-free state within the next three months. The Punjab government has also constituted a 5-member Cabinet Sub Committee led by Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema to monitor the war against drugs.
Divulging details, Special DGP Law and Order Arpit Shukla informed that over 250 Police teams, comprising over 1,600 police personnel, under the supervision of 102 gazetted officers, have conducted raids across the state and checked as many as 659 suspicious persons during the day-long operation.
He said that Punjab Police has devised a comprehensive strategy, and such operations will continue until the scourge of drugs is eradicated from the state.
The Special DGP said that the state government has enforced a three-pronged strategy— Enforcement, Deaddiction, and Prevention (EDP)— to eradicate drugs from the state. As part of ‘De-addiction’, Punjab Police has convinced 19 persons to undergo de-addiction and rehabilitation treatment, while organising 154 awareness events across the state as part of ‘Prevention’.
Meanwhile, police teams have also conducted checks at as many as 281 pharmaceutical shops in five districts, including Fatehgarh Sahib, Commissionerate Police Ludhiana, Ludhiana Rural, Khanna, and Malerkotla, to ensure that they are not selling intoxicant tablets or any other habit-forming drugs, and are adhering to the prescribed norms and regulations regarding the sale of medicines.
