1,468 arrested in Punjab's crackdown on drugs

A total of 1,468 persons have been arrested and 1,277 cases under the NDPS Act registered across Punjab in last four weeks after the Amarinder Singh government began its crackdown on drug mafia in the state.

The Special Task Force (STF), constituted by the government to combat the drug menace, has "choked" trans- border and interstate-border supply lines of drugs, with a whopping 1,277 NDPS Act cases registered and 1,468 persons arrested since March 16, STF chief Harpreet Singh Sidhu said on Sunday.

The arrests and the cases registered are double of what was reported last year during the same period, he said.

With a multi-pronged approach, the STF, joined by various state police and intelligence agencies, has cracked down on the drugs trade in the state, virtually strangulating the supply of all types of drugs in the state, Sidhu claimed.

He said though the formal notification on the constitution and the terms of reference of the STF came on Friday, the STF began its drive against the drugs scourge from April.

Citing data gathered by Sidhu's team, an official spokesperson said that 31.804 kg heroin (including 24.4 kg by the BSF), 1.527 kgs smack, 2.272 kgs of charas, 81.99 kgs of opium (including 0.065 kgs by BSF), 2812.5 kgs of poppy husk, 169.223 kg of ganja, 14.8 kgs of bhang, 34.911 kg of intoxicant powder, 3,201 vyles of injections and 3,36,314 pills/capsules have been seized as part of the government's crackdown on drugs in Punjab in the period between March 16 and April 14.

Pertinently, Chief Minister Amarinder Singh has given Sidhu a free hand to manage the anti-drugs operations.

Amarinder had also directed the STF to cacth "the big fish" allegedly involved drugs trade in the state.