CHANDIGARH: Amidst the ongoing war against drug waged on the directions of Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann, Punjab Police, to mark the International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking on Wednesday, destroyed over 83 kg of heroin, 10, 000 kg of poppy husk, 100 kg of ganja, 4.52 lakh pills/capsules at 10 different locations across the state.
Director General of Police (DGP) Punjab Gaurav Yadav made a surprise visit at a drug disposal site— Punjab Chemical and Crop Protection Limited— in Dera Bassi, SAS Nagar to check the ongoing disposal of drug consignments belonging to districts including Kapurthala, SAS Nagar, Fatehgarh Sahib, Roopnagar and all STF Ranges. The DGP was accompanied by Special DGP Special Task Force (STF) Kuldeep Singh, Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) Rupnagar Range Nilambari Jagdale and Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) SAS Nagar Dr Sandeep Garg.
DGP Gaurav Yadav, while addressing the media, said that this huge quantity of drug consignments pertaining to 626 NDPS cases are being disposed of in a transparent manner by 33 Districts/Commissionerates and Units of Punjab at 10 different location in the state. He also took a stock of ongoing drug disposal/destruction of the remaining districts/units via Webex meeting.
Pertinently, Punjab Police has disposed of at least 2700 kg of heroin, 3450 kg of opium, 1.77 lakh kg Poppy Husk, 1.40 crore pills/tablets and 2 lakh injections since the formation of the CM Bhagwant Singh Mann led Punjab Government government. The last drug disposal was held on June 7, 2024 throughout the state of Punjab.
The DGP, while unequivocally giving message of “Say No to Drugs”, appealed the people to stay from any kind of drugs as addiction to narcotics could cost them their life. He also exhorted the people of the State to join Punjab Police in its fight against drugs and do share information if they found anyone smuggling or supplying drugs.
“Together, let us pledge to fight against drugs with unwavering resolve. Let us protect our youth, our families, and our future, ” he said, while reiterating the commitment of the Punjab Police to make Punjab a drug-free state.
DGP Gaurav Yadav said that following the directions of CM Bhagwant Singh Mann, Punjab Police has adopted a three-pronged strategy— Enforcement, Deaddiction and Prevention (EDP)— to eradicate drugs from the state.
Intensifying our strategy on controlling drug supply at Point of Sale at Mohalla and Village level, he said that, all the Police officers have categorically been asked to trace the forward and backward linkages of all the cases being registered under the NDPS act and take strict action against those found in collusion with the drug smugglers.
Meanwhile, following the strenuous efforts of the Punjab Police to root out drug menace from the state, Heroin recoveries have jumped 6.83 times (683%) since 2017.
BOX: ACTION AGAINST DRUGS SINCE MARCH 2022
* Big Fish Held With 2kg and Above Heroin: 356
* Properties Forfeited: 459 properties worth Rs 200 crores
* Total Heroin Recovered: 2324 Kg
* Total Opium Recovered: 2239Kg
* Total Poppy Husk Recovered: 106 tonnes
* Total Ganja Recovered: 2613Kg
* Total tablets/capsules/injections/vials of Pharma opioids Recovered: 4.16 crores
* Drones recovered: 187