Punjab's new DGP, Gaurav Yadav, had on Wednesday announced a war on corruption within the force by announcing the arrest of the DSP by the Tarn Taran police for allegedly taking a bribe of Rs 10 lakh from a drugs supplier. (Express Photo)In its efforts to rein in drug-peddlers, Punjab Police have arrested 676 drug smugglers/suppliers under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act across the state in the last one week.
“Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has given the Punjab Police a free hand and full liberty to wage a war against drugs and conduct extensive anti-drug drives to combat the menace of drugs on Punjab borders,” stated the spokesperson of the Punjab Police here Monday.
“Immediately after taking charge as Director General of Police (DGP) of Punjab, Gaurav Yadav ordered all the Commissioners of Police/senior Superintendents of Police in the state to strictly adhere to the Punjab Government’s zero-tolerance policy against drugs and keep a vigil at drug hotspots in their jurisdiction,” stated the spokesperson.
The police have recovered 5.57 kg heroin, 17 kg opium, 25 kg ganja, 7 quintals of poppy husk, and 2.25 lakh intoxicant pills/capsules among other drugs after carrying out cordon and search operations in the drug-affected areas, besides setting up ‘nakas’ at vulnerable routes across the state. A total of 559 first information reports (FIRs) have been registered. As many as 32 proclaimed offenders and absconders in NDPS cases have also been arrested in the past weeks, the officer said.
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He said that the DGP strictly ordered all the CPs/SSPs to identify all top drug smugglers and the hotspots infamous for smuggling activities and launch a combing operation to nab all the peddlers. He also directed the police chiefs to effectively forfeit the property of all the arrested drug smugglers so that their ill-gotten money could be recovered, the spokesperson said.
Drug peddlers making spurious heroin
“As the Punjab Police have managed to break the supply chain of the drugs, it has come to the notice of Muktsar district police that due to less availability of heroin, the peddlers are resorting to duplicate heroin made with the help of spurious materials by mixing powder of Patasha (a traditional sweet made of sugar), washing soda, weed-killers and herbicides (liquid and powder) and then by using surfactant. The manufactured duplicate heroin (Chitta) is sold in plastic wrappings to the poor people.”
“Meanwhile, the DGP has also asked other CPs/SSPs to initiate novel ways to connect with people at the ground-root level and sensitise them about the ill effects of the drugs,” added the spokesperson.
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