Chandigarh (Punjab) [India], August 10 : Continuing the war against drugs "Yudh Nashian Virudh" waged by Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann to eradicate drug menace from state consecutively for the 162nd day, Punjab Police conducted raids at 391 locations on Monday leading to the arrest of 68 drug smugglers after registration of 50 first information reports (FIRs) across the state. With this, the number of total drug smugglers arrested has reached 25,343 in 162 days, a release said on Sunday.
As per the release, the raids have resulted in the recovery of 1.4 kg of heroin and 1594 intoxicant tablets/capsules from the possession of arrested drug smugglers.
The operation was conducted on the directions of the Director General of Police (DGP) Punjab, Gaurav Yadav, simultaneously in all 28 Police districts of the state.
Notably, CM Bhagwant Singh Mann has asked the Commissioners of Police, Deputy Commissioners and Senior Superintendent of Police to make Punjab a drug-free state. The Punjab government has also constituted a 5-member Cabinet Sub-Committee led by Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema to monitor the war against drugs.
Divulging details, Special DGP Law and Order Arpit Shukla informed that over 110 Police teams, comprising over 900 police personnel, under the supervision of 67 gazetted officers, have conducted raids across the state. Police teams have also checked as many as 414 suspicious persons during the day-long operation, he added.
The Special DGP said that with the state government having enforced a three-pronged strategy-- Enforcement, De-addiction and Prevention (EDP)-- to eradicate drugs from the state, the Punjab Police, as part of 'De-addiction', has convinced 43 persons to undergo de-addiction and rehabilitation treatment today, the release said.