Over 3,000 arrests, seizure of drugs worth Rs 115 crore in UP’s crackdown on cartels since January

LUCKNOW: In a state-wide crackdown on illegal narco trade since January 2022, the state police have arrested 3,660 persons and seized drugs worth Rs 115 crore till June 31.

UP Police said that a drive was carried out under ‘Operation Narco’ in 2022 in which 29,445kg of drugs were seized in six months. Apart from initiating action independently, in some cases, UP Police teamed up with the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) and STF to round up those involved in drug rackets operating in the state.

Additional director general of police, law and order, Prashant Kumar, said that monitoring of cases involving drugs is monitored on a daily basis and crackdowns are conducted in the districts.

“In 2022, 3,324 FIRs have been registered, in which 3,660 accused have been arrested in the last six months. We have also instructed district police chiefs to monitor cases of the NDPS Act on a monthly basis and if they see any sort of spike or change in the drugs being smuggled and sold then inform the headquarters so that the information can be shared with the NCB and STF,” said Kumar.

Kumar also said that the highest drug seizure of 2,500 kg was made by the Kanpur police zone while the highest number of arrests (578) were made by the Lucknow police zone.

According to the ADG, coordination among the drug law enforcement agencies in the state has hit the drug cartel hard with huge seizure of consignments and arrests of traffickers.

“Seizure of crores of illegally acquired properties out of drug proceeds and slapping the Gangster Act on some of them have forced the drug traffickers to shift their strategy and move out of UP,” he said.

The NCB officials also said that traffickers have also changed their method of smuggling.

“Prior to lockdown and Covid-19 restrictions, opium traffickers used human couriers who used to carry a maximum of 250 gm drugs with them,” said Prashant Srivastava, zonal director, Narcotics Control Bureau, Lucknow.

Srivastava also said that since 2020, smugglers have started hiding large opium consignments in spare tyres, especially creating secret cavities attached to the vehicle’s axle, below fuel tanks and engines of trucks carrying essential commodities.

However, he said that the smuggling of pharma-based drugs is posing a challenge in the state.
Stay updated with the latest news on Times of India. Don't miss daily games like Crossword, Sudoku, and Mini Crossword.