DAY 50 OF YUDDH NASHIAN VIRUDDH: AAP GOVT’s FLAGSHIP CAMPAIGN CONTINUES TO CREATE IMPACT

PUNJAB POLICE ARRESTS 131 SMUGGLERS; RECOVERS 1.7 KG HEROIN & 3.5 KG OPIUM

CHANDIGARH, April 19:

          With the war against drugs “Yudh Nashian Virudh” waged on the directions of Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann to eradicate drug menace from state entered 50th day, Punjab Police on Saturday arrested 131 drug smugglers and recovered 1.7 kg heroin, 3.5 kg opium from their possession. With this, the number of total drug smugglers arrested has reached to 6737 in just 50 days.

          The operation was conducted on the directions of 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 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 220 Police teams, comprising over 2000 police personnel, under the supervision of 100 gazetted officers have conducted raids at as many as 468 locations across the state leading to the registration of 82 first information reports (FIRs) across the state. Police teams have also checked as many as 528 suspicious persons during the day long operation, he added.

          He said that as part of the state's zero-tolerance policy on drugs, Commissionerate Police Jalandhar in coordination with Municipal Corporation Jalandhar demolished an illegally built house belonging to three notorious drug smugglers in Jalandhar. The smugglers identified as Lakhwir Kaur alias, Sandeep Kumar, and Suraj, have eight registered cases against them under the various sections of the NDPS Act.

          The Special DGP said that with the state government has enforced a three-pronged strategy— Enforcement, Deaddiction and Prevention (EDP)— to eradicate drugs from the state, the Punjab Police as part of ‘De-addiction’ has convinced two persons to undergo de-addiction and rehabilitation treatment.

          Meanwhile, Police teams have also conducted checking at as many as 141 pharmaceutical shops in five districts including Sri Muktsar Sahib, Ferozepur, Faridkot, Moga and Fazilka to ensure that they are not selling intoxicant tablets or any other habit-forming drugs, and are adhering to the prescribed norms and regulations regarding the sale of medicines.

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