Punjab police arrest 72 drug smugglers, recover over 9 kg of contraband

Chandigarh (Punjab) [India], March 30 (ANI): Punjab Police on Sunday arrested 72 drug smugglers and recovered 8.8 kg heroin, 500 kg ganja and Rs 99,410 drug money from their possession. With this, the number of total drug smugglers arrested has reached 4614 in just 30 days, an official statement said.

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, it added.
Notably, Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann has asked the Commissioners of Police, Deputy Commissioners and Senior Superintendent of Police to make Punjab drug 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, the statement added.

Divulging details, Special Director General of Police (DGP) Law and Order Arpit Shukla informed that over 200 Police teams, comprising over 1100 police personnel, under the supervision of 82 gazetted officers, have conducted raids at as many as 391 locations across the state, leading to the registration of 49 first information reports (FIRs) across the state. Police teams have also checked as many as 435 suspicious persons during the day-long operation, he added.
The Special DGP said that with the state government has 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 five persons to undergo de-addiction and rehabilitation treatment. (ANI)