Punjab Police nabs 118 drug smugglers in statewide raids

Chandigarh, Mar 12 (PTI) Punjab Police on Wednesday said it arrested 118 drug smugglers in raids at 543 locations as part of its ongoing anti-drug drive.

In all, police have nabbed 658 drug smugglers in the past 12 days, it said.

Police also recovered 994 grams of heroin, 4,633 intoxicant tablets or injections and Rs 1.47 lakh cash from the possession of arrested drug smugglers.

The operation was conducted on the directions of Director General of Police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav simultaneously across Punjab's districts.

Special DGP Arpit Shukla said more than 250 police teams, comprising over 1,600 police personnel, conducted these raids and checked 659 "suspicious persons" during the daylong operation.

Police also checked ot 281 pharmaceutical shops in five districts – Fatehgarh Sahib, Commissionerate Police Ludhiana, Ludhiana Rural, Khanna and Malerkotla – to ensure that they were not selling intoxicating tablets or any other habit-forming drugs.

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has set a deadline of three months to make the state drug-free. PTI CHS VN VN