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New Indian Express
23-07-2025
- Health
- New Indian Express
All police to be trained in MAP-Drugs app as Karnataka steps up anti-narcotics drive
BENGALURU: In an effort to make Karnataka a drug-free state, all police officials and relevant department personnel across the state will undergo training on the use of the MAP-Drugs app. District-wise targets will also be set to control drug abuse and sub-committees modelled on the Anti-Narcotics Task Force (ANTF) will be established to coordinate efforts. These directions were issued during the 6th state-level Narco Coordination Committee meeting, chaired by Chief Secretary Shalini Rajneesh, at Vidhana Soudha on Tuesday. DG & IGP M A Saleem, Narcotics and Organised Crime (Cyber Command Unit) head Pronab Mohanty, Additional Chief Secretary Mohammed Mohsin and other senior officials were present. According to a press release, the chief secretary emphasised the need for police and other department officials to adopt the MAP-Drugs app and instructed that drug-related information be made available in Kannada on government websites. She also urged districts to follow the Belagavi model in tackling drug abuse. To prevent drug trafficking, Rajneesh called for intensified checks at airports and recommended including customs officials in coordination meetings. She also directed action against unregistered pharmaceutical companies and mandated that all pharmacies display boards stating: Sale without doctor's prescription is prohibited. She called for strengthening monitoring mechanisms to regulate the sale of red-listed drugs. Rajneesh also called for improved Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for managing de-addiction centres and directed that the public be informed about available services. Deputy commissioners were instructed to visit at least one de-addiction centre every month and submit reports. She also stressed the importance of conducting drug tests in hostels using testing kits and taking action against positive cases.
Indian Express
20-07-2025
- Indian Express
In war against drug menace, Punjab Police crackdown traces major hawala conduits in Turkey, UAE
Investigations by Punjab Police into the hawala network, which funds and fuels the drugs smuggling trade in the state, has revealed that much of the illegal cash is routed through Turkey, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Malaysia, Canada, and West Asia. The Anti Narcotics Task Force (ANTF), which has been spearheading the 'Yudh Nashyean Virudh' (war on drugs) campaign in the state has been investigating the cross border linkages of the hawala transactions and has found that the maximum transactions are routed through UAE and West Asia and that money exchangers based in India are the prime movers of this illicit cash. Speaking to The Indian Express, Director General of Police (DGP), Punjab, Gaurav Yadav said that the crackdown on hawala network is one of the most important aspects of the war on drugs. 'We have arrested 60 people till now in connection with hawala networks linked to drugs and have recovered more than Rs 12 crore. The investigations by ANTF have found that people from different states and professions are involved in it. Linkages have been found in Haryana, Rajasthan, Delhi, Karnataka apart from Punjab,' said Yadav. The DGP said that it is essential to hit at the financial aspect of the drugs trade so as to make it unprofitable for anyone to venture into drugs smuggling. 'The seizure and forfeiture of property being done by the Punjab Police under the relevant provisions of the NDPS Act are also a step towards this aim. All these so called gains from the drugs trade have to be traced and connected to the big fish,' said the DGP. A senior official from ANTF said that the most commonly used conduits are currency exchanges but they have also found the involvement of some mobile repair store owners in this illegal activity. 'The international links reach Dubai, Malaysia, Canada, Pakistan and Turkey. There are digital and coded transactions over phones and bank account layering is done to obscure proceeds from heroin sales,' the official said. Recovery of Rs 4.22 crore hawala money along with 423 grams heroin, 372g gold, four cars, and motorcycles. Four inter-state hawala operators were arrested. In this case backward linkages in recovery of heroine in Amritsar led to unearthing of hawala network being run by forex agents Ashok Kumar and his brothers in Phagwara, Kapurthala. Drug was being smuggled from Pakistan by one Shahbaz, a resident of Pakistan's Narowal district, through Gurbhej Singh alias Bheja who was lodged in Amritsar Jail. The hawala money was being routed through through one gym operator Harmanjit alias Harry to the forex operator Ashok Kumar who would further launder it to Dubai. In this case there was a recovery of 7kg opium along with Rs.23 lakh of drug money. Total seven people were arrested. Here, one Iqbal was the mastermind who was collecting the hawala money on the instructions of foreign based criminal Joban Kaler. Here the money was being deposited to the forex operator Ashok Kumar of Phagwara, Kapurthala. An international narco-hawala link to a Turkey-based smuggler Navpreet Bhullar was unearthed. Six people were arrested with 1kg heroine and Rs 84.02 lakh hawala money while Rs 22 lakh has been frozen in bank accounts. Turkey based Navpreet Bhullar is the mastermind of this case with Gurdeep Saab being his on ground worker in Amritsar. In this case an interstate drug network was busted with the recovery of 60kg heroin from Barmer in Rajasthan. Eleven people were arrested out of which four are from Jammu and Kashmir, two from Rajasthan, one from Haryana and four from Punjab. During the interrogation, it came to fore that Manish Daga from Jodhpur and Ashok Punjabi from Jodhpur were handling the hawala operations within India. They were acting in close coordination with Dharmendra (resident of Ajmer), who is currently residing in Dubai. Dharmendra, in turn, is directly in touch with Tanveer Shah, a Pakistan-based smuggler believed to be the mastermind behind the cross-border drug operations. Five people have been arrested in this case. In the course of investigations significant revelations regarding hawala operations have emerged during the interrogation of the main accused Jagjit Singh, resident of Tilak Nagar, Delhi, from whom Rs .6.9 Lakh has been recovered. Originally from Afghanistan, Jagjit returned to India in 2014 and had since been operating as a key hawala conduit for cross-border drug proceeds. He is working on the instructions of one Pakistan based smuggler namely Pathan.
Hindustan Times
15-07-2025
- Hindustan Times
Three of family held with ₹10 crore drugs; ran a racket
Three people of a family and a relative of theirs were arrested after they were found to be in possession of narcotic drugs worth ₹10.29 crore, in Lucknow, the state police's Anti-Narcotics Task Force (ANTF) unit said on Monday. The four people who were arrested on Sunday for operating a 'family' drug business, in Lucknow. (Sourced) It added that the family was running a drug racket, and it was one of the major narcotic busts in the city in recent times. The people who were arrested in coordination with Thakurganj police were identified as Shravan Kumar Nishad, 65, his son Ayush Nishad, 20, Neha Nishad, 24, who's the wife of his elder son Shravan, and relative Sulfiyan, 20, from Wazirbagh. The arrests in the Rautghat locality of the city were made on Sunday morning. 'The entire family was running the business. Materials were brought from Barabanki and sold in their house. One more family member is on the run, and he will be nabbed soon,' said Thukurganj SHO Shrikant Rai. ANTF said 1.015 kg of morphine, 252 grams of charas, 5.5 kg of ganja, and 6 grams of MDMA (mephedrone) were recovered from the accused. A sum of ₹79,530 in cash, a 100 Euro note, four mobile phones, and a Swift Dzire car were also seized from them. 'The family was operating as a cohesive drug distribution unit, sourcing and selling high-value narcotics across state lines. The involvement of three members from a single household shocked investigators and raised concerns over evolving patterns in the drug trade where trusted family links are being used to reduce risk and avoid detection,' said the SHO. According to the SHO, an FIR under sections 8, 20, 21 and 29 of the NDPS Act has been filed at Thakurganj police station. Further investigation was underway to identify the source network and possible interstate links, he added. pic;
Time of India
14-07-2025
- Time of India
3 of a family held as ANTF busts Rs 10cr drug racket
Lucknow: In a blow to inter-state narcotics trade, the Anti-Narcotics Task Force (ANTF) of Uttar Pradesh , in coordination with the Thakurganj police, busted a family-run drug racket and arrested four people, including an elderly man, his son, and daughter-in-law, with narcotics worth Rs 10.29 crore in the international market. While the arrests took place in Rautghat locality of Lucknow on Sunday morning, the matter came to the fore on Monday. The accused have been identified as Shravan Kumar Nishad (65), his son Ayush Nishad (20), daughter-in-law Neha Nishad (24), who is the wife of another son), and Sulfiyan (20), a close associate from Wazirbagh. "The entire family was running the racket. Drugs were brought from Barabanki and sold from their house. One more family member is on the run who will be nabbed soon," said SHO, Thakurganj, Shrikant Rai. According to ANTF officials, the joint team recovered 1kg of morphine, 252 grams of charas, 5.5 kg of ganja, and 6 grams of MDMA (mephedrone) from the accused, along with Rs 79,530 cash, a 100 Euro note, four mobile phones, and a car used for transporting the contraband. "The family was operating as a cohesive drug distribution unit, sourcing and selling high-value narcotics across the state. The involvement of three members from a single household shocked investigators and raised concerns over evolving patterns in the drug trade where trusted family links are being used to reduce risk and avoid detection," the SHO said. He said that an FIR under sections 8, 20, 21, 29 of the NDPS Act had been filed at Thakurganj police station. Further investigation is underway to identify the source network and possible interstate links.
Hindustan Times
11-07-2025
- Hindustan Times
Delhi: Key member of narco-syndicate held with ₹7-crore heroin
Delhi Police has arrested a 24-year-old man allegedly linked to a national drug syndicate and seized over 400 grams of heroin, officials said on Thursday. The bust, conducted by the anti-narcotics task force (ANTF) of the crime branch, marks a significant strike against the heroin supply network in the Capital, police said. (Representational image) The bust, conducted by the anti-narcotics task force (ANTF) of the crime branch, marks a significant strike against the heroin supply network in the Capital, police said. Deputy commissioner of police (crime) Sanjeev Kumar Yadav said the accused, identified only as Gaurav, a resident of Rohini, was nabbed from Sultanpuri following a tip-off. 'A total of 405 grams of heroin and 1,007 small packets of suspected heroin were recovered. The haul falls under the 'commercial quantity' category under the NDPS Act,' Yadav said. The heroin, estimated to be worth ₹7 crore in the market, was being transported on a scooty, which was also seized. Gaurav was intercepted while en route to deliver the consignment. During interrogation, Gaurav revealed that he sourced the heroin from an associate named Vanshu, who is currently absconding. Police said Gaurav, a school dropout, previously dealt in illicit liquor with relatives and began selling drugs in 2023 after meeting Vanshu at a wedding. 'Efforts are underway to trace Vanshu and identify other links in the syndicate. Investigations are also focusing on the origin of the drugs and their intended destinations,' the DCP said. A case has been registered under Sections 21 and 25 of the NDPS Act. Further probes are on to map the full extent of the network.
