Rs 50k cr of narcotics seized, anti-drugs task force formed in state: Fadnavis

Opposition NCP MLA Rohit Pawar raised a question about Patil’s arrest and the government’s role in the case. “News reports say that drugs worth Rs one lakh crore have been seized in Gujarat. In Maharashtra, we have seized drugs of Rs 300 crore,” Pawar had said, to which Fadnavis mentioned the Rs 50,000 crore figure.

The minister said that states were sharing intelligence to seize drugs. “In a city like Mumbai especially, it was said that drugs were sold at stalls outside schools and colleges. The Mumbai police have silently taken action on over 2,200 stalls. At many places a pattern is being observed, where closed factories are used to prepare drugs using chemicals. We are also keeping an eye on the sale of chemicals,” he said.

Fadnavis when asked about Lalit Patil, said that he did not want to get into politics but would like to take action against the menace of drugs. “When Lalit Patil was arrested he was not taken into police custody but sent to hospital directly. The then Police Commissioner of Pimpri-Chinchwad Krishnaprakash had sought permission from the then MVA government to approach the court to seek his custody. But the government did not give the permission. Patil was a leader of Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sena,” he said.