New Delhi: The year 2024 had been a tough one for drug peddlers in and around Delhi as, on the instruction of Lieutenant Governor (LG) VK Saxena, the Delhi Police and Crime Branch ramped up crackdowns leading to seizures of drugs worth billions and arrest of several people.
A team from the Delhi Police went to Gujarat on the trails of drug mafias who operate in the NCR region and busted a cartel with seizures worth crores of rupees.
Yes to Life, No to Drug
To derail youths from the path of drugs and narcotics, the Delhi Police ran several awareness campaigns and pasted banners with the message 'Yes to Life, No to Drugs' on all DTC buses. Aside from this, properties bought by mafias with drug money have been confiscated and razed to the grounds with bulldozers.
On October 2, drugs weighing 560 kgs worth Rs 5,600 crore were seized in the biggest haul by the Delhi Police from the South Delhi area and arrested four. On the same day, the customs department recovered 1.5 kg cocaine worth over Rs 24 crores from a Liberian citizen at IGI Airport.
On December 28, a large cache of narcotics, being ferried for a rave party in Goa to celebrate the New Year, was seized by the Eastern Range of Crime Branch. Three persons involved in this were arrested and 3.68 kg of drugs worth Rs two crore was recovered from them.
On December 27, the Delhi Police arrested three after busting a big drug cartel which was involved in the manufacture and smuggling of banned drugs. Drugs worth about Rs one crore and machines were confiscated from the illegal factory.
On December 17, police destroyed 11 tonnes of narcotics comprising marijuana, heroin, cocaine and LSD, valued at Rs 1,700 crore in the international market.
On December 1, an international drug syndicate was busted in Delhi. The gang members were smuggling drugs worth crores of rupees using the dark web, cryptocurrency and fake documents. The kingpin, Lokesh Dhingra alias Loki, was nabbed during the operation.
Saxena launched the Drug-Free Delhi campaign on November 27 to be run for the entire December. The campaign aims to free Delhi from the clutches of drug mafias by 2027. Under Operation Garuda, 288 smugglers were arrested and 555 kg of drugs were recovered by November 15.
On November 13, seven kg of heroin worth Rs 29 crore was seized from Delhi Airport and in a joint operation on October 13, the Delhi Police in collaboration with their Gujarat counterpart seized 518 kg cocaine valued at Rs 5,000 crore.
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