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Narcotics Control Bureau
More than 30,500 drug smugglers have been arrested across Punjab over the last 205 days as part of the state government's ongoing anti-narcotics campaign, officials said on Tuesday. The 'Yudh Nashian Virudh' or war against drugs campaign, launched to eradicate the menace of drugs from Punjab, completed 205 days on Monday. The Punjab Police on Monday conducted raids at 395 locations, leading to the arrest of 81 drug smugglers after registration of 59 first information reports (FIRs) across the state. With this, the number of drug smugglers arrested so far has reached 30,540 in 205 days, they said. More than 150 police teams, comprising over 1,100 police personnel, under the supervision of 74 gazetted officers, conducted these raids across the state on Monday. The raids resulted in the recovery of 922 grams of heroin, 4 kg of poppy husk, 336 intoxicant tablets/capsules and some drug money from the possession of the arrested smugglers. Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has asked the ...
The Narendra Modi government is determined to wipe out all kinds of narcotics from the nation and is making an all-out effort to achieve this goal, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said on Tuesday. Addressing the Second National Conference of Heads of Anti-Narcotics Task Force (ANTF) of States and Union Territories, he also said the time has come to change the scale of action against the drug menace so that there are more successes in the coming days. The conference, organised by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), began here on Tuesday. The home minister said Prime Minister Modi has set a target of 2047 to make India a fully developed and great nation. To achieve this dream of PM Modi, the country has to be fully secure, he said. "The Modi government is determined to wipe out the drug menace from the country and is making all-out efforts to achieve this goal," Shah said. "PM Modi has set forth the vision of creating an India by 2047 that will be the world's number one in every aspec
Over 22,000 narcotic smugglers have been arrested so far under a state-level campaign against drugs, officials said on Friday. Under the 'Yudh Nashian Virudh' (war against drugs) campaign, Punjab Police on Thursday arrested 113 drug smugglers and recovered 1.5 kg heroin, 5 kg opium, and 31,237 intoxicant pills from their possession. With this, the number of total drug smugglers arrested in 138 days of the campaign has reached 22,377. Special DGP (Law and Order) Arpit Shukla stated that over 180 police teams, comprising more than 1,300 police personnel, under the supervision of 93 gazetted officers, conducted raids at as many as 433 locations across the state on Thursday. The operation led to the registration of 81 FIRs across the state, Shukla said, adding police teams also checked as many as 483 suspicious persons in the exercise. The state government has also constituted a five-member cabinet subcommittee led by Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema to monitor the war against ...
The Supreme Court on Thursday refused to intervene with an order directing the Narcotic Control Bureau (NCB) to pay Rs 1 lakh cost in a case, but reduced it to Rs 50,000. A bench of Justices M M Sundresh and K Vinod Chandran passed the order on Centre's plea challenging the Calcutta High Court's June 16, 2024 order. The high court imposed the cost on the NCB over the delay in appealing against an acquittal in a case. The amount was directed to be paid to West Bengal State Legal Services Authority, Kolkata, within a week. The NCB was directed to recover the cost from its personnel involved in the process of drafting and filing the government appeal. The apex court, however, ordered the cost to be deposited by the government and not the officers. "One thing is clear. There must be either the fault of your lawyer or your officer. It has to be either one of them," the bench told the Centre's counsel. The top court continued, "We are not inclined to interfere with the impugned judgem
Narcotics worth over Rs 25,330 crore were seized by various agencies during 2024, an increase of 55 per cent as compared to the seizures made in 2023, an official statement said on Monday. The action in line with the zero-tolerance policy against drugs of the Centre was undertaken by all law enforcement agencies, including the Narcotics Control Bureau. The trend showed that seizure of addictive synthetic drugs, cocaine and pharmaceutical drugs used as psychotropic substances has increased significantly, which are also of much higher value, the statement said. "Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while implementing zero-tolerance policy against drugs, in 2024, all law enforcement agencies across the country, including the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), seized narcotics worth approximately ?25,330 crore, which is more than 55% higher compared to the ?16,100 crore worth of drugs seized in 2023," it said. The increase in seizure is the result of 'Bottom to Top' and '
Seizures of the narcotic drug Methamphetamine have increased in the northeastern states of Assam and Mizoram in the current year, with the DRI confiscating 123 kg of the contraband during April-September. Methamphetamine, also known as 'ice' or 'crystal meth', has become a significant challenge for law enforcement agencies in India, particularly through the porous northeastern borders. According to a report by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI), the smuggling trend indicates that Methamphetamine is being illegally brought into India through sea routes in the Andaman Sea and Bay of Bengal. For smuggling, the drug is brought to coastal hamlets like Rameswaram, Tuticorin and Nagapattinam, concealed within specially designed compartments in buses, trains, or cars. From these locations, it is smuggled across the maritime border to Sri Lanka through mid-sea transfers involving Indian fishing boats. In the first half of FY 2024-25, DRI seized 123 kg of methamphetamine in 11 cas
Sameer Wankhede, former zonal director of the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), has urged the Bombay High Court to transfer the probe into an atrocities case against NCP leader Nawab Malik to an independent agency like the CBI. Wankhede, an additional commissioner in the Directorate General of Taxpayer Services and a member of the Mahar Scheduled Caste, alleged in his plea that police inaction in the matter has caused him and his family significant mental distress and humiliation. The Indian Revenue Services (IRS) officer had in August 2022 lodged a complaint with the suburban Goregaon police against Malik under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. The complaint alleged that Malik had during interviews and on social media made defamatory remarks against Wankhede and his family members based on his caste. Malik has neither been arrested in the case nor has the chargesheet been filed till date. In his petition filed on November 20 in HC, Wankhede .
The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) has confiscated more than 80 kg of cocaine worth around Rs 900 crore in the national capital, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said on Friday and asserted that the government's hunt against drug rackets will continue "ruthlessly". Two people, residents of Delhi and Sonipat, were arrested in the case. The "high-grade" party drug was seized from the Janakpuri and Nangloi areas of the national capital on Thursday, NCB Deputy Director General (Northern region) Neeraj Kumar Gupta said. The cocaine seizure came on a day when a joint operation by the NCB, the Navy and the Gujarat ATS led to the confiscation of about 700 kg of methamphetamine along the Gujarat coast. This operation on the sea also saw the arrest of 8 Iranian nationals. "The back-to-back major breakthroughs against illegal drugs in a single day demonstrate the Modi government's unwavering resolve to build a drug-free Bharat. The NCB today confiscated 82.53 kg of high-grade cocaine in New Del
An accused in the mega mephedrone drug seizure in Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh allegedly shot himself in the foot to escape tough police grilling and then surrendered in Mandsaur, an official has said. The Gujarat Anti-Terrorist Squad and the Narcotics Control Bureau on October 5 seized 907.09 kg of mephedrone and raw materials to make the drug worth Rs 1,814 crore from a factory in Bagroda in Bhopal. Premsukh Patidar alias farzi doctor' (phony doctor) was on the run after the drug haul. He surrendered at Afzalpur police station here with a gunshot wound in his left thigh inflicted with a country-made pistol. He is the fourth person to be arrested in the case, Mandsaur Superintendent of Police Abhishek Anand told PTI on Friday. A weapon was seized from Patidar, who has been admitted to the district hospital. The pistol seems to be illegal. Patidar wounded himself in a bid to avoid tough police grilling," the SP said. Patisar is allegedly the partner of another accused in the case, Hari
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday said the illegal narcotics trade is not only a challenge for India but also a global issue, stressing that the country can fight the menace if it pursues with determination and strategy. Addressing a meeting at a hotel in Nava Raipur on the scenario of narcotics substances in Chhattisgarh, Shah emphasised the need to adopt four formulas of drug detection, network destruction, culprit detention and addict rehabilitation in achieving success. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has pledged to make the country drug-free in 2047 when the 100th year of the country's independence will be celebrated and gradually the resolution has become the resolution of the 130 crore population. I believe that the resolution of a drug-free India is very important in making a prosperous, safe and glorious India, Shah said. The illicit drug trade is not only a challenge for India but also a global issue, he said, pitching for the need to raise awareness of this menace. If
Arunachal Pradesh is placed among the top four states in the country for all categories of substance abuse, the assembly was informed on Tuesday. Responding to a question by senior BJP member Wanglin Lowangdong, Health & Family Welfare Minister Biyuram Wahge said that according to a survey, the magnitude of substance use in the northeastern state is alarming'. The survey examined the extent and pattern of use of eight categories of psychoactive substances - alcohol, cannabis, opioids, cocaine, amphetamine stimulants, sedatives, inhalants and hallucinogens - and found that Arunachal Pradesh is among the top four states in India, the minister said. He added that opium cultivation has been in practice among several tribes of the state for centuries while poppy cultivation and opium consumption have been deeply ingrained in the socio-economic and cultural life of the people in the eastern part of Arunachal Pradesh. A report by the Central Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) warns of ...
Drug trade in any form will not be tolerated in Maharashtra, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde said on Saturday. The Opposition has targeted the state government over the rising use of narcotic drugs and other banned substances following the arrest of some persons for alleged drug consumption at a pub in Pune city. Shinde was speaking to reporters after attending the 'palkhi' procession of Sant Dnyaneshwar Maharaj at Dehu in the district. The procession is part of the annual 'waari' or pilgrimage to Pandharpur which lakhs of devotees of Lord Vitthal undertake. "Any trade of drugs will not be tolerated in Maharashtra. The government is working on it, strict action will be taken against all those involved," the CM said. "I have given orders to remove 'paan' shops located near schools and colleges in the state. I have also asked police find the chain of peddlers or suppliers who are ruining the young generation. Officers who take a lax approach (while probing drug cases) will face ...
The Enforcement Directorate has arrested sacked DMK functionary Jaffer Sadiq at the Tihar Jail in connection with a drugs linked money laundering investigation, official sources said Friday. The federal agency will soon take the 36-year-old to Chennai and produce him before a special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) seeking his remand for custodial interrogation, the sources said. Sadiq was arrested by the ED on June 26 at the Tihar Jail where he is lodged in judicial custody in a NCB case. A production warrant is being sought from a Delhi court following which he is expected to be taken to Chennai where the ED case is lodged, they said. The ED had earlier obtained the court's permission to question him in jail and he was taken into custody during this procedure. He was first arrested by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) in March for his alleged involvement in the smuggling of about 3,500 kg of pseudoephedrine with a street value of more than Rs 2,000 crore. The money ..
Authorities have seized cash, drugs and inducements worth Rs 8,889 crore that aimed to influence voters in the ongoing Lok Sabha polls, the Election Commission said on Saturday. At 45 per cent, drugs formed the biggest chunk of the total seizures. Narcotics worth around Rs 3,959 crore were seized, it said. Drugs, liquor, precious metals, freebies and cash influence elections in varying degrees, some flowing directly as inducements while others through reduced levels of circulation of money, the poll authority said. The commission said it has laid special emphasis on the seizure of narcotics and psychotropic substances. Analysis of data found that states and Union Territories that used to be transit zones are increasingly becoming consumption territories of drugs, it said. The Gujarat Anti-Terrorism Squad, Narcotics Control Bureau and the Indian Coast Guard in joint operations have made three high-value seizures of drugs in just three days, amounting to Rs 892 crore, the poll panel
The Gujarat Anti Terrorist Squad and Narcotics Control Bureau jointly raided four units in the state and neighbouring Rajasthan and nabbed 13 persons allegedly with mephedrone worth Rs 230 crore, an official said on Saturday. The raids were carried out on Friday after the ATS received a tip off that Ahmedabad-resident Manoharlal Enani and Kuldeepsinh Rajpurohit of Rajasthan had set up mephedrone manufacturing units. A watch was kept on the movements of Enani and Rajpurohit as well as their accomplices, following which raids were carried out on units in Sirohi and Jodhpur in Rajasthan and Piplaj village in Gandhinagar and Bhaktinagar industrial area of Amreli district in Gujarat, an ATS release informed. "The ATS recovered 22.028 kilograms of mephedrone and 124 kilograms of liquid mephedrone, collectively worth Rs 230 crore. Rajpurohit was nabbed during the raid at Gandhinagar and Enani was held from Sirohi," it said. As per the probe, Enani was in jail for seven years after he was