DW BUREAU / CHANDIGARH

Punjab Police conducted a massive state-level cordon and search Operation (CASO) named 'EAGLE-IV' on Friday, targeting identified drug hotspots across the state, according to an official statement. Over 500 police teams, comprising more than 4,000 personnel, cordoned off 392 drug hotspots, the points of sale of drugs and psychotropic substances, and arrested 254 persons. Additionally, 352 checkpoints were established around these areas, the statement said.

The operation was directed by Punjab Director General of Police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav and took place from 8 am to 2 pm across all 28 police districts. Senior officers from the Punjab Police headquarters, including police commissioners and senior superintendents of police, participated in the operation.

Special DGP (Law and Order), Arpit Shukla, said police teams registered 221 FIRs and arrested 254 individuals. They also checked 4,575 suspicious persons and verified their credentials, according to the statement.

During the operation, the police recovered 2.6 kg of heroin, Rs 15.71 lakh in drug money, 83 kg of poppy husk, 2.6 kg of ganja (cannabis), 550 grams of opium, 7,553 intoxicant tablets, and a significant quantity of licit liquor, it added.

High-ranking officers from the police headquarters, including ADGP, IG, and DIG, supervised the operation in each police district.

Special DGP Shukla, who joined Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Gulneet Singh Khurana in Rupnagar, directed the police teams to meticulously plan the operation and execution of target areas sheltering drug peddlers.

Shukla highlighted the state government's three-pronged strategy ? enforcement, de-addiction, and prevention (EDP) ? to eradicate drugs. He urged officers to trace the forward and backward linkages in all cases registered under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act and to take strict action against those colluding with drug smugglers.

To combat drug smuggling from across the border, Shukla noted that strict vigilance is being maintained on drone movements, which are increasingly used to smuggle drugs, weapons, and explosives.

Since September 2019, there have been 906 drone sightings in border districts, with 187 drones successfully recovered, he said.

Additionally, the properties of prominent drug smugglers or dealers caught with more tahn 2 kg heroin are being forfeited, he added.

Since the Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann-led government took power, Punjab Police have seized 459 properties worth Rs 200 crores. There are 559 more proposals to freeze properties worth Rs 246 crores pending approval, the officer added.
(editor@dailyworld.in)