NCB Ahmedabad unit destroys Rs 870-crore seized drugs as part of nation-wide exercise

Ahmedabad, Jan 27 (PTI) The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) Ahmedabad zonal unit has destroyed 4,543.4 kg of seized narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances worth Rs 870 crore as part of a fortnight-long nation-wide exercise to dispose of intoxicants, officials said on Monday.

Contrabands covered under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act were destroyed by incineration at Dahej in Bharuch district on January 25 as part of the "Drug Disposal Fortnight" (January 10 to 25), the NCB said in a release.

Among drugs and psychotropic substances destroyed by the NCB's Ahmedabad zonal unit were charas (3,185.685 kg), heroin (88.727 kg), methamphetamine (748.334 kg), mephedrone (0.332 kg), alprazolam (0.077 kg), lidocaine (1.078 kg), tramadol (500.310 kg), and amphetamine (18.404 kg), it said.

They were destroyed under the aegis of a high-level panel and the regular Drug Disposal Committee of the NCB, Ahmedabad zonal unit, the release said.

The exercise was part of a nation-wide "Drug Disposal Fortnight" launched by Union Home Minister Amit Shah during a regional conference on "Drug Trafficking and National Security" held in New Delhi on January 11.

The exercise aims to reaffirm the nation's commitment to eradicate the drug menace, the NCB said.

"This campaign underscores the NCB's commitment to combating drug trafficking by ensuring the prompt and efficient disposal of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances," according to the central agency.

The initiative follows the directions of the Supreme Court in respect of a criminal appeal of 2012, the release added. PTI KA RSY