357 drug smugglers held in Punjab in a week

357 drug smugglers held in Punjab in a week (representational image)


As a part of the ongoing drive against drugs, the Punjab Police have arrested 357 drug smugglers after registering 269 First Information Reports (FIRs), including 35 commercials under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act across the state in the last one week.

Addressing a press conference, Inspector General of Police (IGP), Headquarters, Sukhchain Singh Gill said that the police have also recovered 6.90 kilogram (kg) heroin, 14.41 kg opium, five kg ganja, 6.44 quintals of poppy husk and 2.10 lakh tablets and vials of pharma opioids, besides recovering Rs 4.81 lakh drug money.

He said that with 17 more Proclaimed Offenders (POs) and absconders in NDPS cases arrested this week, the total number of arrests reached 280 since the special drive to arrest them was started on July 5.

Gill said that Director General of Police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav has 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 meagre amount of drugs.

He said Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has given the Punjab Police a free hand and full liberty to wage war against drugs, extensive anti-drug drives have been launched to combat the menace of drugs from the border state of Punjab.

The DGP has also strictly ordered all the police chiefs to identify all top drug smugglers and the hotspots infamous for drug smuggling in their jurisdictions.