SRINAGAR: As J&K continues to grapple with the menace of drug abuse, authorities in the union territory have revealed that an alarming 1,978 drug-related cases have been registered in the last 15 months alone and over 2,800 persons have been held in connection with them.
This is part of a larger crackdown on drug traffickers and suppliers aimed at dismantling the nexus. Notably, drug abuse has picked up in J&K over the last few years. About 14.09 lakh persons in J&K are affected by substance abuse, including addiction to alcohol, cannabis, opioids and inhalants. About 1,514 cases were registered in 2024, and 2,260 arrests and 274 detentions were made under the NDPS Act.
And the first quarter of this year (January–March 2025) witnessed 464 cases and 637 arrests and 76 detentions related to them. The authorities have seized the properties of drug dealers worth Rs 12 crore in connection with the 31 cases that involved narcotics in commercial quantities. Besides, the law enforcement authorities destroyed poppy crops on 273 acres of land and cannabis on 1,642 acres of land in 2023–24.
As far as accountability is concerned, 27 departmental inquiries were initiated in 2024 against IOs, resulting in 16 punishments, including censures and withheld increments.
DGP Nalin Prabhat has stressed the need to adopt a “whole of government” approach to successfully defeat this social evil. The law enforcement agencies, he said, cannot tackle the issue without public support or assistance from other government departments.
Meanwhile, the Anti-Narcotics Task Force (ANTF) Kashmir has deployed a highly trained dog squad to combat the menace in the Valley. “The newly inducted sniffer dog Safa, trained in advanced narcotics detection, will play a pivotal role in identifying and locating illegal drugs,” a police official said.
Narco menace
About 1,514 cases were registered in 2024 and 2,260 arrests and 274 detentions were made under the NDPS Act
The first quarter of this year (January–March 2025) witnessed 464 cases and 637 arrests and 76 detentions related to them