CHANDIGARH, May 31:
With the three-months long anti-drug campaign ‘Yudh Nashian Virudh’ launched on the directions of Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann has delivered a major blow to the drug trafficking networks in the state, Director General of Police (DGP) Punjab Gaurav Yadav on Saturday said that the relentless enforcement drive will be continued against drugs, with fresh exhaustive lists of drug peddlers and suppliers being prepared with inputs from Districts, Intelligence and ANTF for action against drug traffickers in the next 60 days.
“Another big focus area would be on persons released on bail, we have devised a system of monitoring their activities by taking village elders and village panchayats into confidence,” said the DGP, terming that bail cancellation of repeat offenders would remain a primary focus.
Punjab Police is also exploring the use of GPS anklets to track and monitor activities of big drug smugglers released on bail, said the DGP, while stating, “We are examining the proposal from legal point of view to track the movement and monitor activities of bailed out big smugglers through GPS anklets with the approval of competent Court,” he said.
DGP Gaurav Yadav said that with Punjab was the first in the country to devise a software— Punjab Artificial Intelligence System (PAIS)— in 2019, similarly, an AI-powered hierarchical database is being developed to map arrested persons under NDPS Act with backward and forward linkages to be traced upto two levels in each arrest.
He said that after conducting trials of advanced anti-drone systems along the Indo-Pak border to combat drone-based smuggling of narcotics, arms, and explosives, the Punjab Government has placed an order to deploy this advanced system. These systems are designed to detect, identify, and neutralise drones, aiming to disrupt cross-border smuggling network effectively, he said.
He said that Punjab Government has approved Rs 500 crores package for the upgradation and modernisation of the Jails under which every jail will have De-addiction centre so that inmates can avail de-addiction treatment.
Addressing a press conference at Punjab Police Headquarters here, DGP Gaurav Yadav revealed that Punjab Police has registered 8344 first information reports and arrested 14,734 drug smugglers— including 13,038 drug peddlers and 1,696 listed drug suppliers/distributors since March 1, 2025. He was accompanied by ADGP Anti-Narcotics Force Nilabh Kishore and IGP Headquarters Dr Sukhchain Singh Gill.
He said that due to strict enforcement huge recoveries of drugs have been made during this campaign including 586 kg heroin, 247 kg opium, 14 ton poppy husk, 9 kg charas, 253 kg ganja, 2.5 kg ICE, 1.6 kg cocaine, 25.70 lakh intoxicant pills/tablets and Rs 10.76 crores drug money from their possession. During the ‘Yudh Nashian Virudh’ campaign, illegally acquired properties of 144 drug smugglers worth 74.27 Crores has been freezed, while, 104 illegally constructed properties of drug smugglers were demolished by the local authorities during this campaign, he added.
The DGP revealed that the the Punjab Police have employed scientific investigation techniques including digital evidence, collection and financial tracking. Out of the 1205 cases decided during this period, 1085 cases resulted into conviction with a conviction rate of 90%, which is highest in the country, he said.
He said that intelligence reports and informal survey indicates disruption in the supply chain of drugs resulting in 50% increase in street level heroin prices and 40% increase in street level prices of synthetic drugs as a result of strict enforcement. Repeated, targeted, and effective CASO operations have forced notorious drug smugglers to abandon their homes and flee, disrupting local network and diminishing their operational capacity, he said.
He said that Hawala network has been effectively disrupted with the arrest of 48 big Hawala operators, resulting in recovery of Rs 10.76 crore. This has given a substantial setback to the economic infrastructure of drug smugglers and their network, effectively disrupting their funding channels and undermining their operational capacity, he added.
DGP Gaurav Yadav said that the ‘Safe Punjab’ WhatsApp Chatbot portal— 9779100200— emerged as a game-changer as it has received an overwhelming response from the public for its confidentiality feature encouraging individuals to report smugglers, addicts, and providing suggestions. Out of 7635 tips received, 1596 FIRs were registered after investigation which resulted in the arrest of 1814 accused, he said.
Citing that Punjab Police has adopted compassionate approach and prioritised the treatment of drug addicts as patients rather than criminals, he said that 1121 individuals caught with small quantity of drugs, were sent for de-addiction and rehabilitation under section 64-A of the NDPS Act. In addition, Police teams have also taken 5786 drug users to de-addiction centres for treatment, while, 6483 drug users were convinced by the police to take treatment from OOAT centres, he added.
Furthermore, he announced that Station House Officers (SHOs) will personally reach out to the bailed-out individuals, engage with them in a supportive manner, and obtain a self-declaration pledge that they will refrain from consuming or selling drugs. Additionally, SHOs will offer medical assistance to those in need, he said, while adding that strict action will be taken against repeat offenders.
DGP Gaurav Yadav also announced the ‘Each One Adopt One’ program where every police officer starting from the rank of DGP to downwards will adopt one drug user and focus on his/her de-addiction and rehabilitation. “Starting from myself, every officer— under the ‘Each One Adopt One’ program— will voluntarily adopt one drug user, and monitor his de-addiction treatment and motivate him,” he said, while exhorting more people should come forward and adopt one drug user to help them to bring back into mainstream.
Talking about future prevention strategies, DGP Gaurav Yadav said that Village Panchayats are being requested to hold meetings and assess the drug situation in their village to independently find out if their village is drug-free or not. “If the village is free of drugs, the Panchayat would be requested to declare their village ‘Nasha Mukt’ and if the village is not yet free of drugs, the Panchayat is requested to assess the present status and devise strategy to make their village drug-free,” he said.
Meanwhile, Citizens can report drug activities anonymously via Safe Punjab Helpline (9779100200).
