Govt to amend laws for invoking MCOCA against drug peddlers: Fadnavis

Mumbai, Jul 2 (PTI) Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Wednesday said in the legislative council that the state government will amend existing laws so that drug peddlers are booked under the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA).

The amendments will be introduced in the ongoing monsoon session of the state legislature, he said.

Replying to a question in the Upper House of the state legislature, Fadnavis said action is currently taken against those involved in drug peddling under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act.

However, the arrested accused get bail and resume their activities again, he said.

"The government is amending laws so that these people can be arrested under the MCOCA. The amendments will be introduced in the ongoing monsoon session of the state legislature," the chief minister said.

Fadnavis said he had announced a task force in the last session of the state legislature and it has now been fully operationalised.

The NDPS units are at the district level and at some places even above it. Now, every police station has an independent NDPS unit, the CM said.

He said the state government will also request the Bombay High Court for fast track courts in NDPS-related cases.

Fadnavis also stressed the need for more quality de-addiction centres in the state.

In a written response to a question, he said 303 cases related to mephedrone were registered in the state in 2022, followed by 642 in 2023 and 545 in 2024.

In the last five years, the Anti-Narcotics Cell (ANC) of the Mumbai Police, the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) and Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) raided factories where mephedrone was being manufactured.

The ANC registered 12 cases, arrested 75 people and seized 2,909.993 kilograms of mephedrone between 2021 and 2025. Similarly, the DRI registered four cases, arrested 22 people and seized 179 kilograms of mephedrone from 2022-25, while the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) registered three cases and seized 1,837 kilograms of mephedrone. PTI PR NP