Chandigarh, DGP Dinkar Gupta said that since Punjab shares around 550 Kilometres border with Pakistan, it has become a major transit route to smuggle heroin, mainly produced in Afghanistan, to other states across the country. Pakistan has established a huge smuggling infrastructure at the borders to smuggle heroin into drug in Punjab, using different methods including rivers, border fencing, sea route.
He said that over 420 big fish (on the basis of recovery of over 2 kg heroin) were arrested in the last four years. The Punjab Police had also managed to nab the most wanted narco smuggler Ranjit Cheeta from Sirsa, the DGP said, adding that the Special Task Force (STF) in January 2020 had busted a narcotic unit in Sultanwind area of Amritsar with the arrest of an Afghan national, and also confiscated over 190kgs heroin. He said that the Punjab Police have also arrested some Police personnel, Army and BSF Jawans, found involved in drug smuggling. In the past four years, the police have forfeited illegal property worth Rs 233 crores under NDPS, he said.
The DGP said the Punjab Police had also busted various Pharma drug units in Punjab and other states by seizing huge quantities of Pharma drugs including Tramadol, Alprax and Benadryl etc. A pharma factory had also been busted by the department in Narela on the outskirts of Delhi, and was found supplying Pharma drugs across 17 states including Punjab. Recently, a Pharma drug factory was also unearthed in Baddi in Himachal Pradesh, he said.ACS Home Anurag Agarwal disclosed that the conviction rate in illicit drug trafficking has gone up from 50 percent to 80 percent.
Meanwhile, the Nodal Officer Anti-Drug campaign, Rahul Tewari, said Employment Generation and Training department had launched Mission Red Sky and approached drug addicts to provide employment avenues to them.Taking part in the event, a class 12 Jalandhar Navjit Kaur, a reformed drug addict youth Harvinder Singh from Sangrur, DAPO Headmistress GHS Panjar Jeet Kaur from Tarn Taran District, member of the anti-drug supervisory committee Dr. Sukhpal Kaur from Ludhiana and BSc Non-Medical student from Government College, Mohali Kiranpreet Kaur, shared their inputs and experiences.
