THE MAHARASHTRA police on Thursday said strict instructions have been given at the district-level and police station-level to take action against drug manufacturing factories after nearly six factory busts have taken place in the state in the past few weeks. Senior officers said if such factories are found within the limits of a police station, action will be taken against local police personnel under whose jurisdiction the factory falls. In the state, action has been taken against three police officials after factories in Nashik, Solapur and Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar were found to be making narcotics. Additional Director General of Police Sanjay Saxena said the officials were immediately transferred to the control room. Speaking to the media, Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) chief Sadanand Date and Saxena said that in the current year till October they had registered 10,536 cases as compared to 9,530 cases of consumption of narcotics registered last year for the same period. While in the current year, 10,231 persons were arrested, 9,700 were arrested in the same period last year. In terms of narcotics possession, 2,491 cases were registered till October this year as compared to 1,530 cases during the same period last year. The officials spelt out the action that had been taken by the police in the past two years. Asserting that Maharashtra police has a 'zero tolerance' policy towards drugs, the officials said the state will soon have an Anti-Narcotics Task Force headed by an Inspector-General rank officer to curb the menace. The police are taking the 'up and down' approach to drug enforcement, under which the probe concentrates on the suppliers as well as at the end of the peddling chain, they added. Further, the officials said they had carried out awareness campaigns and fresh de-addiction centres were being established and had also established a detention centre where foreign nationals involved in narcotic crimes will be lodged. At present there are 130 Vyavan Mukti Kendras in the state and 24 more such facilities will be established. This apart, a Deportation Centre will be set up at Bhoiwada in Mumbai for deportation of foreign drug smugglers. A state-level and district-level special committees have been established from March 25, 2022 following the directives of the central government. Nearly 130 meetings of these systems have been held in 36 districts, through which anti-narcotics measures are being taken with the help of the police and other departments.
