Chandigarh: The Punjab Police on Sunday conducted raids at 306 locations, leading to the arrest of 67 “drug smugglers” after registration of 58 FIRs across the state. With this, the total number of “drug smugglers” arrested during the last 232 days of the state government’s ongoing campaign against drug abuse has reached 33,500, officials said.
The raids also resulted in the recovery of 561 grams of heroin, 1.1 kg opium, 1229 intoxicant tablets/capsules and Rs 6360 “drug money” from the possession of the arrested accused, they added.
Notably, Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann has asked the Commissioners of Police, Deputy Commissioners and Senior Superintendent of Police to make Punjab a drug-free state.
The state government has also constituted a five-member Cabinet Sub-Committee led by Finance minister Harpal Singh Cheema to monitor the war against drugs.
Over 100 police teams, comprising over 800 personnel, under the supervision of 57 gazetted officers, conducted 306 raids across the state on the day. They have also checked at least 332 suspicious persons during the day-long operation.
The state government has enforced a three-pronged strategy— Enforcement, Deaddiction and Prevention (EDP)— to eradicate drugs from the state, and thus, the Punjab Police on the day convinced 23 persons to undergo de-addiction and rehabilitation treatment.