Over 20,000 smugglers nabbed in 15 months during anti-drug crusade: Punjab Police

PTI

Chandigarh, October 9

Over 20,000 drug smugglers were arrested in the past 15 months during an anti-drug drive in Punjab, officials said on Monday.

Among the recoveries made from the peddlers, more than 1,600 kilograms of heroin was seized during the operation, a senior police officer said.

Inspector General of Police (headquarters) Sukhchain Singh Gill said the state police's drive against drug menace has completed 15 months, during which 20,979 drug smugglers were arrested and 15,434 first information reports (FIRs) were registered since July 5 last year.

The police recovered 1,510.55 kilograms of heroin from across the state after carrying out cordon and search operations in areas with high drug menace, Gill said.

Additionally, 147.5 kg heroin was seized by teams of Punjab Police from seaports of Gujarat and Maharashtra, taking the total effective recovery of heroin to 1,658.05 kg in just 15 months, he added.

The IGP said apart from heroin, the police also recovered 924.29 kg opium, 986 kg ganja, 470.91 quintals of poppy husk, and 92.03 lakhs tablets, capsules, injections and vials of pharma opioids from across the state.

The police also recovered Rs 15.81 crore of cash from drug smugglers in the last 15 months, said the IGP.

Under this operation, police also forfeited properties of 111 smugglers worth Rs 88.3 crores in 15 months. The maximum amount was forfeited from Jalandhar (Rural) district with seized properties worth Rs 40.3 crore, followed by Tarn Taran district where properties worth Rs 12.06 crore were taken into police possession.

According to the IGP, besides action against drugs, the police busted 31 terror modules with the arrest of 197 terrorists or radicals since the AAP government came to power.

They recovered 32 rifles, 222 revolvers, pistols, nine tiffin improvised explosive devices (IEDs), 10.86 kg RDX and other explosives, 11 hand grenades, two sleeves of disposed rocket launcher, 73 drones, and one loaded rocket propelled grenade from the arrested terrorists or radicals, he said.

On action against gangsters, Gill said the Anti-Gangster Task Force has busted 249 gangster modules after arresting 800 gangsters and neutralising six and recovered 839 weapons, 171 vehicles from them.  

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