COIMBATORE: To curtail the sale of narcotic drugs and banned susbstances, the Coimbatore (Rural) police have been checking the whereabouts of 2,100 people who were into drug peddling around ten years ago and conducting surprise raids across the district.
Raids were conducted on Saturday and Sunday in which ten cases were booked, and around 10 kg of ganja, one tonne of gutka were seized. A illgeal bar was also sealed.
Explaining the drive, Superintendent of Police K Karthikeyan said 86 special teams have been constituted and they are regularly checking on 2,100 people who were involved in peddling ten years ago. Around 30 per cent of the offenders are from other districts or states, and the special teams are also monitoring them. “In the case of the remaining offenders, we have checked around 80 per cent of them. The monitoring will continue until the district is declared drug and contraband-free,” the SP said.
He added, “There are no kingpins in Coimbatore and all the suspects are part of the supply chain. While we take one step further like surprise raids, checking their warrants and bank transactions, it is easy to freeze their bank accounts if any illegal activities are found, and that stops them from doing illegal work.
Hence, we are planning to continue the drive.” He further said that around 50 suspects with various criminal backgrounds were detained under the Goondas Act this year. “We have been detaining those who peddle ganja, drugs, and tobacco and have nexus with drug networks, and POCSO case offenders under this Act because it prevents them from being active in illegal networks.”