Reiterates demand for a national drug policy: Captain blames ‘neighbours’ for not doing enough to tackle drug menace

Calling for the support of all stakeholders to fight the drug menace, which he termed a global problem, the chief minister claimed the neighbouring states of Haryana, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, and Delhi had agreed to put in place an effective mechanism for tackling drug smuggling, but no significant progress has been made.

Asserting his government’s zero tolerance towards drugs, Amarinder attributed the problem to Pakisatan and to the strong nexus between smugglers, gangsters and terrorists who were promoting narco-terrorism in the state.

Interacting with the people, the CM said most of the drugs, especially heroin, are smuggled into Punjab from Afghanistan via Pakistan through Haryana, Jammu and Kashmir, Rajasthan, Delhi and even Nepal. He termed it as a “Pakistani conspiracy” to weaken Punjab’s youth and weaning them from joining the armed forces and cited the instances of drug drops via drones and seizure of 700 kg of heroin smuggled into Punjab through Kandla port. In addition, several deadly weapons have been smuggled by Pakistan through the Uri sector in Jammu and Kashmir, he added.

Expressing concern over a recent incident of large drug seizure in Canada, Amarinder said it was shameful that the involvement of few Punjabi youth in the crime had not only defamed the sate but also brought disrepute to other Punjabis living peacefully across the globe.

On the progress made in the fight against drugs, the chief minister said Punjab had successfully got two ‘A category’ gangsters deported — Sukhpreet Budhha from Armenia in 2019 and Sukh Bhikhariwal from UAE in 2021. Gaurav Patiyal is in the process of being deported from Armenia while Ramanjit Romi, a handler of gangsters, is being brought back from Hong Kong, he added.

Further, efforts are on to bring back gangsters Harry Chattha from Portugal and Gagan Hathur from Australia, he said.

He said the Buddy Programme, launched with the aim of educating children about the ill-effects of drug abuse, has been implemented in 16,000 educational institutions.

He also launched a week-long state-wide awareness drive by the School and Higher Education Departments.

Earlier, Health and Family Welfare Minister Balbir Singh Sidhu said medicines worth Rs 70 crore were being given every year to people
undergoing treatment for drug de-addiction. The number of persons undergoing treatment has increased from 2,67,000 to 6,72,000. He urged the CM to introduce a subject on drug awareness in the school curriculum.

State Congress chief Sunil Jakhar urged the CM to direct the police force to be more vigilant in view of the US decision to withdraw from Afghanistan.

Director General of Police Dinkar Gupta said since Punjab shares around 550-km-long border with Pakistan, it has become a major transit route to smuggle heroin, mainly produced in Afghanistan, to other states across the country. Pakistan has established a huge smuggling infrastructure at the borders to smuggle heroin into drugs in Punjab, using different methods including rivers, border fencing, and sea route, he said.

The DGP said, “over 420 big fish” (those caught with over 2 kg heroin) were arrested in the last four years. The Punjab Police had also managed to nab the most wanted narco smuggler Ranjit Cheeta from Sirsa, the DGP said.

The STF in January last year had busted a narcotic unit in Sultanwind area of Amritsar with the arrest of an Afghan national, and also confiscated over 190kgs heroin He said the Punjab Police have also arrested some police personnel, Army and BSF jawans, found involved in drug smuggling. In the last four years, police have forfeited illegal property worth Rs 233 crore under NDPS ACT, he said.

ACS Home Anurag Agarwal said that the conviction rate in illicit drug trafficking cases has gone up from 50 per cent to 80 per cent.
Meanwhile, the Nodal Officer Anti-Drug campaign, Rahul Tewari, said Employment Generation and Training department had launched Mission Red Sky and approached drug addicts to provide employment avenues to them.