Punjab Police continued its anti-drug campaign, ‘Yudh Nashian Virudh,’ for the 25th consecutive day, following Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann’s directive to eliminate drug abuse from the state. On Tuesday, police teams conducted 452 raids across Punjab, resulting in the arrest of 69 drug smugglers and the registration of 47 FIRs. This brings the total number of drug smugglers arrested in the past 25 days to 3,937.
During these operations, police recovered 1.2 kg of heroin, 300 grams of opium, 2,200 intoxicant tablets/pills/injections, 375 kg of poppy husk, and ₹13,000 in drug-related money. The raids were carried out under the directives of Punjab’s Director General of Police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav in all 28 police districts of the state.
Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann has instructed Commissioners of Police, Deputy Commissioners, and Senior Superintendents of Police to make Punjab a drug-free state. Additionally, a five-member Cabinet Sub-Committee, led by Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema, has been formed to oversee the anti-drug initiative.
Providing details, Special DGP (Law and Order) Arpit Shukla stated that over 200 police teams, comprising more than 1,300 personnel and supervised by 93 senior officers, conducted raids and checked 525 suspicious individuals throughout the day. He emphasized that Punjab Police has developed a comprehensive strategy and will continue such operations until the drug menace is eradicated.
As part of the state government’s three-pronged strategy—Enforcement, De-addiction, and Prevention (EDP)—Punjab Police convinced six individuals to seek de-addiction treatment and organized 104 awareness programs across the state.
Additionally, police teams inspected 212 pharmaceutical shops in six districts, including Commissionerate Jalandhar, Hoshiarpur, SBS Nagar, Jalandhar Rural, Kapurthala, and Rupnagar, to ensure compliance with regulations and prevent the sale of intoxicant tablets and other habit-forming drugs.