Intel ops, tracking kingpins: Eye on pan-India drug syndicates, Delhi Police’s ANTF now a specialised unit

“The formation aligns with national efforts to curb the drug trade, building on the Delhi Police’s existing Special Cell expertise while streamlining resources for faster action. It will also coordinate with the Narcotics Control Bureau and other state police forces for intelligence sharing and inputs,” the source added. The logo and a helpline number (1933) for the task force have already been launched and the process of formation of a bigger team is going on, it has been learnt.

The ANTF was initially set up as a small unit in June 2022 after restructuring the Narcotics Cell under the Crime Branch.So far, the Special Commissioner of Police, heading the Crime Branch, has overseen the ANTF.

As a specialised unit, it will now be led by a Special Commissioner of Police, supported by one Joint Commissioner, one Additional Commissioner, one Deputy Commissioner of Police, and two Assistant Commissioners.

The unit will have the authority to register FIRs at its dedicated Anti-Narcotics police station.

In 2022, when the Crime Branch launched this unit, it had a team of around 20 officers led by an ACP and inspectors. The new unit, however, will have a bigger team with several inspectors and sub-inspectors from the Crime Branch, Special Cell, and districts who
have strong records in busting drug syndicates, said sources.

“The plan is to build this unit with over 200 staff members, on the lines of the Economic Offences Wing, Special Cell and Crime Branch,” a source said.

The source added that the new ANTF will include two sub-units headed by ACPs — one for ANTF operations and another Narcotics Coordination Portal to coordinate with other states and central agencies to combat drug trafficking networks. Sources also added that a new building with full police station infrastructure, including a lockup, has been earmarked at the Seventh Battalion campus in South Delhi’s Malviya Nagar for this specialised unit.

A senior officer said that the Union Home Ministry has placed significant emphasis on dismantling drug syndicates across the country.

In Delhi, even as district-level teams handle routine operations, the Crime Branch and Special Cell have led major anti-drug busts. According to statistics, last year the Trans-Yamuna districts of Delhi recorded the highest number of seizures and arrests. At least 234 cases were registered in the East district, 214 in Shahdara, and 147 in the Northeast district. The Special Cell registered 15 cases, while the Crime Branch registered 98 in 2025. Delhi has 15 police districts. The police have conducted several high-profile busts, including operations against inter-state heroin, cocaine, and synthetic drug networks. Among these is the alleged Rs 13,000-crore drug trafficking racket busted by the Special Cell in 2024, which is among the largest.

As part of this operation, in October 2024, 562 kg of cocaine was seized from Mahipalpur in South Delhi. The same month, another 208 kg of cocaine was recovered from a shop in West Delhi’s Ramesh Nagar. A third seizure was made when Special Cell officials, along with the Gujarat Police, recovered 518 kg of cocaine worth ₹5,000 crore during a raid at a firm called Aavkar Drugs in Ankleshwar, Gujarat. So far, more than 20 people have been arrested in connection with the case, but several key leaders are still on the run.