CHANDIGARH: After the success of Village Defence Committees (VDCs) in curbing drug smuggling in border villages, the Punjab Police is set to introduce Mohalla Committees in urban areas to tackle the drug menace across the state.
Since March 1, authorities have arrested 4,142 drug smugglers and registered 2,384 FIRs in their ongoing crackdown.
"With street-level drug supply witnessing a sharp decline due to the ongoing crackdown under 'Yudh Nashian Virudh', Punjab Police has now shifted focus to dismantling high-level drug networks. The force is targeting major suppliers and kingpins fueling the narcotics trade in the state," Punjab DGP Gaurav Yadav said on Thursday.
"We are not stopping at this. Police teams are now rigorously questioning all the arrested drug smugglers to trace and identify kingpins in narcotics trade in the state,” he added.
The development comes soon after Punjab DGP Gaurav Yadav directed all Commissioners of Police (CPs) and Senior Superintendents of Police (SSPs) to identify and catalogue key drug suppliers in their districts within seven days.
The DGP said that 4,142 drug smugglers were arrested after 2,384 FIRs were registered and around146.3 kg heroin, 85.3 kg opium, 19.95 quintals of poppy husk 7.69 lakh intoxicant tablets or capsules, 1 kg ICE and Rs 5.83 crores drug money was recovered from drug smugglers as a part of the anti-drugs campaign ‘Yudh Nashian Virudh’.
Yadav stated that the ongoing crackdown has significantly reduced street-level drug availability. He said all CPs and SSPs have been directed to personally oversee the mapping exercise and compile details of drug suppliers in their areas.
The suppliers are being catalogued based on interrogation reports, public tips, intelligence inputs, data from the Safe Punjab Helpline, and backward and forward linkages uncovered in NDPS Act investigations.
Yadav announced that, inspired by the success of Village Defence Committees (VDCs), the Punjab Police will now establish Mohalla Committees in urban areas to strengthen the fight against drugs. VDCs, comprising trusted members of border villages, have played a crucial role in assisting the police in combating drug smuggling.
"Just as VDCs bolstered rural policing, Mohalla Committees will empower urban communities to tackle the drug menace collectively," Yadav said, emphasising the importance of public participation in the anti-drug campaign. He thanked citizens for their support and urged them to use the Safe Punjab Anti-Drug Helpline ‘9779100200’ to report drug traffickers anonymously.