Gandhinagar, Feb 25 (IANS) Drugs weighing approximately 41,000 kg and valued at an estimated Rs 3,727 crore have been seized in Gujarat over the past two years, the Legislative Assembly was informed, as the state government detailed enforcement measures and rehabilitation initiatives under its zero-tolerance policy against narcotics.
Providing the details in the Assembly, Deputy Chief Minister Harsh Sanghavi said the government, under the leadership of Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, was moving ahead with the resolve of a “Drug-Free Gujarat”.
Sanghavi said, “Gujarat Police have conducted top to bottom investigation against drug peddlers and taken the strictest possible action.”
He stated that properties worth Rs 32.20 crore belonging to drug traffickers in Kutch district had been seized. “Not only this, but illegal constructions linked to elements involved in the drug trade have also been demolished with ‘Dada’s bulldozer’,” he told the Assembly.
He added that in Jamnagar, illegal houses built by drug mafias on gauchar and government land had been razed.
Referring to coordinated operations, Sanghavi said Gujarat Police had worked with police forces in other states to dismantle inter-state drug networks, including that of the “Pandi Brothers”.
He said drug manufacturing factories had been detected not only in Gujarat but also in other states, and that after arresting drug peddlers and cartels, police had carried out comprehensive investigations covering all aspects of the trade.
“By investigating every link from top to bottom, we have reached the roots of the drug network and taken stringent action against the accused,” he said.
The deputy CM added that the government had adopted what he described as a humanitarian approach alongside legal enforcement.
“Instead of sending youth who have fallen prey to drug addiction to jail, efforts are being made in cities such as Surat and Ahmedabad, under the chairmanship of the Police Commissioners, to bring them back into the mainstream through counselling along with their families,” he said.
Deputy CM Sanghavi further stated that this year’s budget provided for new de-addiction centres in every district to ensure assistance at the local level.
Providing further statistical details, Minister of State Kaushik Vekariya said, “In the last two years, 1,647 offences have been registered across the state, and approximately 41,000 kg of drugs have been seized, with an estimated market value of around Rs 3,727 crore.”
He added that in Jamnagar and Kutch districts alone, 135 offences had been registered, 306 accused arrested, and drugs worth more than Rs 244.59 crore seized.
Vekariya said the ATS and other agencies remained vigilant to prevent trafficking through sea routes.
“With the slogan ‘Eradicate drugs and reward the informer’, the Gujarat Government is committed to protecting the younger generation,” he said, adding that an Anti-Narcotics Task Force structure had been made operational in six zones to break drug networks.
He also told the House that Gujarat’s drug-related crime rate stood at 0.8, the lowest in the country, and said the government’s intensive efforts had led to increased public participation in tackling the menace.
–IANS
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