Punjab Police arrest 77 drug smugglers

Chandigarh, March 26 (IANS) Continuing the war against drugs "Yudh Nashian Virudh" waged on the directions of Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann to eradicate drug menace from the state consecutively for the 26th day, Punjab Police on Wednesday conducted raids at 483 locations leading to the arrest of 77 drug smugglers after registration of 55 first information reports (FIRs).

With this, the number of total drug smugglers arrested has reached to 4,114 in just 26 days.

Police teams have also recovered 1.1 kg heroin, 301 grams opium and Rs 13,570 drug money from the possession of arrested drug smugglers.

The operation was conducted on the directions of Director General of Police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav simultaneously in all 28 police districts of the state.

Notably, CM Mann has asked the Commissioners of Police, Deputy Commissioners and Senior Superintendent of Police to make Punjab drug-free state.

The government has also constituted a five-member Cabinet Sub-Committee led by Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema to monitor the war against drugs.

Revealing details, Special DGP (Law and Order) Arpit Shukla said that more than 200 police teams, comprising over 1,300 police personnel, under the supervision of 101 gazetted officers have conducted raids across the state and checked as many as 531 suspicious people during the day-long operation.

He said that Punjab Police has devised a comprehensive strategy and such operations will be continued till the scourge of drugs is eradicated from the state.

The Special DGP said that the state government has enforced a three-pronged strategy -- Enforcement, Deaddiction and Prevention -- to eradicate drugs from the state, the Punjab Police as part of 'De-addiction' has convinced four persons to undergo de-addiction and rehabilitation treatment, while organising 114 awareness events across the state as part of prevention.

Earlier last week, rallying behind the Punjab government’s anti-drugs campaign "Yudh Nashian Virudh", more than 3,000 panchayats across the state have passed resolutions to support the Punjab Police's relentless war against drugs, marking a significant turning point in the fight to eradicate the drug menace.

The campaign, spearheaded by Chief Minister Mann, has now evolved into a people’s movement, with villages and towns across the state actively participating in the anti-drug drive.

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