Police chief Gaurav Yadav speaks to Manraj Grewal Sharma & Varinder Bhatia about the ongoing war on drugs in the state – from record seizures to their strategy to target major players to the need for de-addiction and prevention measures. How far has the Punjab Police succeeded in combating the drug menace across the state? We have seized over one tonne of heroin till September this year, which is unprecedented in the history of the state’s war on drugs. Ever since the formation of this government in March 2022, we have registered 19,933 cases under the NDPS Act and arrested 26,553 accused. We have also seized moveable and immoveable properties worth Rs 88.3 crore. Besides this, we have identified 456 drug hotspots across all districts for intensified action against traffickers. The aim is clear: we have to eradicate drugs from Punjab before the next Independence Day, as committed by the chief minister. What has been your strategy? When I joined the police force in the 1990s, Punjab was considered part of the Golden Crescent, a major drug trafficking route originating from Afghanistan. Over the years, the state shifted from being a transit point to becoming a consumer, earning it the grim nickname ‘Crescent of Death’. Initially, our strategy involved apprehending anyone in possession of drugs, regardless of the quantity, resulting in a high number of cases, somewhat akin to carpet bombing, even targeting end-users who occasionally had connections to peddlers. However, in August, following the Chief Minister's Independence Day speech, I convened a brainstorming session with all district police chiefs. We decided to focus on targeting major players in the trade. The Punjab police’s notified strategy is called EDP (enforcement, deaddiction, and prevention), and we plan to refine and sharpen each of these components. Our emphasis is now on quality enforcement, aiming not only to arrest peddlers but also to trace the backward and forward links in the drug supply chain. We've established financial intelligence units in every district, staffed by well-educated officers… who can track the money trail. How is enforcement different from the past? We are doing our best to arrest the big fish, the sources of the supply and ensure that they stay behind bars. We have started zeroing in on the major suppliers and freezing their property. We do it in a very demonstrative manner; the idea is to drive home the message that drug peddling is no longer lucrative, and that it has far-reaching consequences. Now we are planning to give SHOs the power to freeze property made from drug money. We see a lot of NDPS cases against women. What is the reason? Yes, their role has increased. There are certain denotified tribes that have taken to drug peddling. Whenever there are raids, men run away and the women are caught with drugs. Also, it’s a societal thing, women are competing with men in every field, and this is also one. Why has there been a significant increase in the number of people involved in tablet peddling and consumption? The rise in tablet abuse is region-specific. In Amritsar, heroin (locally known as ‘chitta’) remains the primary drug of choice. However, in South Malwa and areas farther from the border, we've observed a substantial increase in tablet seizures, particularly in districts like Mansa, Bathinda, Barnala, and Fatehgarh Sahib, closer to the state capital. In Mansa, there's a tablet called ‘Signature’ that's being misused by addicts, which prompted me to instruct District Commissioners to restrict its sales under Section 144. Heroin continues to be prevalent in border regions and larger cities, with recent observations of supply coming from Delhi, although the bulk still originates from across the International Border. We recently seized 6 kilograms of heroin from Nigerians in Kapurthala, which had been sourced from Delhi. What's your strategy to address the drug supply from across the border? We work closely with the Border Security Force. We've established 100 checkpoints or nakas along the 553-kilometre IB, ensuring a police checkpoint every five kilometres, forming a second line of defence after the BSF. We conducted a survey to pinpoint locations prone to drone drops, and identified 11 hotspots where drones frequently landed. Collaborating with the BSF, we've developed a strategy to counter drones and the BSF has acquired equipment to detect and neutralise them. An unwritten rule is that any border recovery is recorded as a joint seizure, fostering synergy and yielding results in disrupting the drug supply. We've also established defence committees in every village within 19 kilometres of the international border, extending beyond the previous 5-kilometre limit. This initiative engages local communities in self-policing. They not only give us valuable ground-level intelligence but also serve as our first responders in emergencies. Such committees are doing very well in Pathankot and we plan to extend this scheme to the rest of the state. What are the challenges you currently face in your efforts? My primary challenge remains enforcement, particularly in apprehending top-level drug smugglers and keeping them behind bars. Squeezing the drug supply line is of utmost importance. It's crucial to understand that while seizures disrupt the drug network and supply chain temporarily, eliminating drugs solely through seizures is not a guaranteed solution. Success in de-addiction and prevention is equally vital. Currently, there are only 36 government-run de-addiction centres in the state. The standard protocol is for addicts to visit a de-addiction centre first and then the Outpatient Opioid Assisted Treatment (OOAT) centre. However, many individuals are bypassing de-addiction centres and going straight to OOAT. According to health department data, 6 to 7 lakh drug users are registered with OOAT centers. This cycle has to be corrected. I firmly believe that if we can make a significant impact on the drug supply, we can stem the exodus of young people from the state, which is a matter of serious concern.
