With these arrests, the number of drug smugglers arrested so far reached 18,719 in just 113 days.
As the war against drugs – Yudh Nashian Virudh – launched on the directions of Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann to eradicate the drug menace from the state completed 113 days, the Punjab Police on Sunday arrested 151 drug smugglers and recovered 533 grams of heroin, 2.8 kg of opium, and ₹5.32 lakh in drug money from their possession.
With this, the total number of drug smugglers arrested so far reached 18,719 in just 113 days.
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The operation was conducted on the directions of Director General of Police (DGP) Punjab, Gaurav Yadav, simultaneously across all 28 police districts of the state.
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Notably, Chief Minister Mann has directed Commissioners of Police, Deputy Commissioners, and Senior Superintendents of Police to make Punjab a drug-free state. The Punjab government has also constituted a five-member Cabinet Sub-Committee, led by Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema, to monitor the anti-drug campaign.
Divulging details, Special DGP (Law and Order) Arpit Shukla informed that over 200 police teams – comprising more than 1,500 police personnel and supervised by 99 gazetted officers – conducted raids at as many as 523 locations across the state, leading to the registration of 98 First Information Reports (FIRs). He added that police teams also checked 502 suspicious individuals during the day-long operation.
The Special DGP further said that the state government has implemented a three-pronged strategy — Enforcement, De-addiction, and Prevention (EDP) — to eliminate drugs from Punjab. As part of the de-addiction initiative, the Punjab Police successfully persuaded 54 individuals to undergo de-addiction and rehabilitation treatment on Sunday.
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