Intensifying the war against drugs in the Union Territory, the Jammu and Kashmir administration has registered as many as 3190 cases and arrested 4536 persons since 2023 in the crackdown against illegal narcotic trade networks.
In order to break the supply chain, the Law Enforcing Authorities have invoked the PIT NDPS Act against the drug kingpins, resulting in 463 orders of detention for the last 18 months.
This has been supplemented with swift intelligence resulting in the interception and seizure of huge amounts of commercial quantities.
During the year 2023, the number of commercial quantity seizures was 319, whereas, the figure for the year 2024 up to June stands at 110.
To prevent pilferage of seized narcotics, drugs are disposed of through court-ordered incineration. In 2023, 29,306 kg of drugs and 74,179 pharmaceuticals were destroyed, with 4,365 kg of drugs and 26,772 pharmaceuticals destroyed in the first half of 2024.
This information was shared during the 10th UT level Narco-Coordination Centre (NCORD) meeting held under the chairmanship of Chief Secretary Atal Dullo.
It was informed that the UT administration is committed to ensuring the adoption of a "Zero Tolerance Policy" against drug trafficking to curb the menace of drugs by strengthening of institutional structure, coordination among all narco agencies, and extensive public awareness campaign.
In the 10th UT level NCORD meeting various issues were discussed and instructions were issued to all the concerned departments/organizations.
Illegal drugs and narcotics remain a pressing issue with far-reaching consequences, encompassing health, social, and economic dimensions that affect individuals, families, and the community on a profound level.
The UT Government is committed to fighting the drug menace through a coordinated and multi-pronged approach which includes prevention, enforcement, treatment, and rehabilitation & IEC strategies.
Authorities asked J&K Police to ensure thorough investigation
Among these directions, the law enforcement agencies, particularly the J&K Police have been instructed to ensure intelligence sharing, strict action, and effective and lacuna-free investigation in all cases of drug trafficking.
The NCORD has emphasized leveraging information from the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) and the NIDAAN portal to target drug peddlers more effectively.
Addressing link between narcotics and terrorism
This government acknowledges the need to arrest the linkage between narcotics and terrorism and this has manifested in the crackdown on narco terror networks involving the arrest of 39 persons in 19 cases during the past one and a half years.
Given the seriousness of the issue, all law enforcement agencies have been instructed to adopt stringent measures that include the attachment of properties in NDPS cases with the objective of disrupting the drug trafficking networks financially. In a total of 43 such cases, the J&K Police has attached residential houses, landed property, vehicles, etc amounting to Rs. 10.36 Crores cases since 2023.
Enhanced regulation and monitoring
UT level NCORD has also laid stress on strict regulation of the sale of psychotropic substances and other related drugs through the introduction of a Computerized Billing System (CBS) and CCTV installations across all drug markets of wholesale and retail license holders, through Drug Control Organization/Health and Medical Education Department.
Besides, the Committee has also instructed the Excise Department as well as the district authorities to monitor the details of the land being used for the cultivation of contraband substances so that effective action is taken in the matter.
Illegal cultivation of poppy and cannabis destroyed over 9448 kanals of land
In this regard, the J&K Police has undertaken significant efforts to destroy illicit crops, particularly poppy and cannabis. During 2023, illegal cultivation of poppy and cannabis over 9448 Kanals of land was destroyed by the law enforcement agencies.
The government has ensured zero-tolerance against government employees found involved in drug trafficking and illegal narcotics trade. All such cases have been compiled and based on the instructions issued during the UT-level NCORD meeting, the concerned departments have been asked to initiate strict departmental action in each case.
Commitment to rehabilitation and create awareness
On the rehabilitation front, the government has taken substantial measures like the establishment of de-addiction centers. Other than the 04 drug de-addiction centers of the Social Welfare Department and 21 Health/Additional Treatment Facility centers (ATFs), the police department has also established 10 drug de-addiction centers.
In the year 2023, there have been a total of 14180 OPDs and 1931 IPD treatments. These figures for 2024 up to June stand at 5318 and 561 respectively. Besides, there are 06 private drug de-addiction centers functioning within the UT of J&K.
The UT level NCORD has instructed to ensure strict implementation of SOPs for monitoring the activities of drug de-addiction center besides taking action against such centers operating in the private sector that do not meet such requirements.
Besides, the Health and Medical Education Department has also been asked to explore the possibilities of supplementing the resources of the centers being managed by J&K Police and Social Welfare Department. DIAL 104 Call Centre by National Health Mission is holding online counseling and Tele-Manas (Telephonic psychological counseling) @ 14416 is operational for helping those affected by drug abuse.
