Punjab Police has recovered over 7.93 lakh tablets, capsules, injections of pharma opioids from across the state in the past one week.

Addressing a Press conference on Monday, Inspector General of Police (IGP) headquarters, Sukhchain Singh Gill said these 7.93 lakh pharma opioids include 6.82 lakh intoxicant tablets, 17169 injectable narcotics, 85442 intoxicant capsules, and 8648 vials of intoxicant syrup.

The major recovery comes after the Fatehgarh Sahib Police had busted a pharmaceutical drug cartel after making a big seizure of over one lakh pharma opioids during a raid at an illegal storage godown in Saharanpur district of Uttar Pradesh, said IGP.

He said that thorough and deep investigations into the previous case, wherein, police had arrested two persons after recovering mere 175 injections of Buprenorphine and 175 vials of Avil, helped the Fatehgarh Sahib Police to nab the main supplier.

Gill said the Director General of Punjab (DGP) Punjab Gaurav Yadav had given strict instructions to investigate backward and forward linkages minutely in each and every case, especially related to drug recoveries, even if they recover the meager amount of drugs.

Divulging weekly updates on drugs, the IGP said that Punjab Police have arrested 508 drug smugglers after registering 389 first information reports (FIRs), including 40 commercial, under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) act across the state in the last one week. In addition to this, the Police have also arrested 31 Proclaimed offenders and absconders wanted in NDPS cases in the past week, he added.

Gill said the police have also recovered 8.37 kilogram (kg) Heroin, 32.28 kg opium, 53.2 kg Ganja, and 140 quintals of poppy husk besides recovering Rs 11.73 lakh drug money after carrying out cordon and search operations in drug-affected areas beside laying nakas at vulnerable routes across the state.

On the new trends in drug smuggling, Gill said using emergency service vehicles like Ambulance for drug smuggling raised serious concerns. The Mohali Police on Sunday arrested three persons after recovering eight kg of opium concealed in a pillow placed under the head of a fake patient lying in an Ambulance during a special Nakabandi on Ambala-Chandigarh Highway near village Dapper.

He said that in wake of this incident, all district heads of the police have been asked to conduct meetings with Hospitals and NGOs providing Ambulance services to get the list of genuine Ambulances so that safe passage could be provided to patients, while, keeping vigil on the anti-social elements using emergency service vehicles for wrongdoings.