Punjab anti-drug drive: Nearly 15,500 smugglers arrested and 9,087 FIRs filed since March 1

Chandigarh: In three months of launching its anti-drug drive ‘Yudh Nashian Virudh’, the Punjab Police have arrested 15,495 drug smugglers and registered 9,087 FIRs, according to an official.

A roadmap has been prepared to eliminate drugs from Punjab. To achieve this, a two-pronged strategy is being adopted to further dismantle the narcotics network by segregating big drug suppliers and peddlers from the drug users, Director General of Police Gaurav Yadav said.

Along with this, a balanced approach of zero tolerance has been adopted by taking stringent legal actions against traffickers and motivating users to undergo de-addiction treatment, he said.

“Our aim is to choke the supply chain by isolating and punishing the actual drug dealers while offering a compassionate path to recovery for drug users,” said Yadav.

Sharing the outcome of the ‘Yudh Nashian Virudh’ drive, the DGP said the police have registered 9,087 FIRs and arrested 15,495 drug smugglers since March 1. Additionally, treatment for 5,786 addicts in de-addiction centres has been facilitated by the police and 6,483 others have been motivated to avail the services at Outpatient Opioid Assisted Treatment clinics.

Yadav also highlighted the humane aspect of their strategy, noting that 1,121 drug users, caught with small quantities, have been sent for rehabilitation under the provision of Section 64-A of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act instead of being treated as criminals.

The DGP chaired a state-level meeting to review the performance of the districts in the ongoing anti-drug drive, law and order situation and internal security situation at the PAP Complex in Jalandhar.

Yadav was accompanied by Special DGP Internal Security RN Dhoke, Special DGP Anti-Narcotics Force (ANTF) Kuldeep Singh, Special DGP Arpit Shukla, ADGP ANTF Nilabh Kishore and IGP (Headquarters) Dr Sukhchain Singh Gill.