Punjab Police raids hideouts of 246 big drug smugglers

Chandigarh, Jun 20 (PTI) Punjab Police on Thursday conducted raids at the "safe havens" of big drug smugglers, who are currently out on bail, as part of its drive against the drug menace.

Big drug smugglers or big fish were those who were caught with 2 kg or above quantity of contraband.

The operation was conducted on the directions of Director General of Police (DGP) Punjab Gaurav Yadav in all districts in the state.

Special DGP Arpit Shukla said that there are 356 "big fishes" caught with two kg or above contraband in 257 drugs cases in the state, and 246 of them are out on bail and found to be active during the last five years.

He said the list of the 246 big drug smugglers was shared among all district police officers who were directed to depute police teams to carry out these searches to make this operation successful, which was aimed at disrupting the drug nexus.

Police teams were also asked to round up suspicious persons during the operation and look for any incriminating material for further probe, he added.

The Special DGP said over 113 police teams, involving 1,200 police personnel, conducted raids at hideouts of 246 big smugglers and checked 188 of them.

Incriminating material including mobile phones has been seized during raids, he said, while adding that the material collected during the search operation is being examined further. PTI CHS NB NB