Delhi Police launch ‘Operation Kawach’ to tackle drug abuse

Officers said the objective of ‘Operation Kawach’ is to identify and apprehend people involved in the trafficking and distribution of narcotics

NEW DELHI: To tackle the menace of drug abuse, a joint operation of crime branch and district units of Delhi Police — Operation Kawach — was launched across the national capital on Friday evening. More than 100 locations were raided across Delhi and 31 drug traffickers and 12 bootleggers were arrested, police said on Saturday.

Officers said that through these operations, a clear message is being sent to those involved in the drug trade that Delhi Police will not tolerate any such activity. (Image for representation)

Ravindra Singh Yadav, the special commissioner of police (crime), said the objective of ‘Operation Kawach’ is to identify and apprehend people involved in the trafficking and distribution of narcotics.

“This joint operation is a significant step in our efforts to combat the drug trade and save our youth. The joint operation utilised a variety of resources such as undercover officers, surveillance, canine support and intelligence gathering. During this operation, it was decided to target both street-level dealers and high-level traffickers, and to have both ‘top-to-bottom’ and ‘bottom-to-top’ approach to effectively counter drug trafficking,” he said.

He added that the coordinated raids on suspects were planned alongside senior officers and field officers. “As many as 80 police teams consisting of anti-narcotics task force (ANTF), crime branch and the police stations of all the districts under the leadership of commissioner of police (CP), were constituted to carry out the operations. Information was sought through human intelligence as well as technical analysis. ANTF, in co-ordination with all the districts, made a ground-level survey and chose more than 100 potential targets for simultaneous raids. These operations were effectively executed across Delhi during the intervening night of May 12 and 13. During this, 957.5 grams of heroin, 57.8 kilograms of marijuana and 782 bottles of illicit liquor were recovered,” Yadav said.

Yadav also said that through these operations, a clear message is being sent to those involved in the drug trade that Delhi Police will not tolerate any such activity. “Operation Kawach is primarily intended to save the youth from the menace of drugs. Although the focus is to take stringent action on the supply side, it is also appealed to society to create awareness and reduce the demand of drugs. The parents, teachers and the social reformers are specially requested to sensitise the youth about the grave consequences of drug addiction,” he said.

The special SP further said that this year, Delhi Police has arrested 534 suspects in 412 cases of Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985. “We have recovered about 35kg of heroin, 15kg of cocaine, 1,500kg of marijuana, 230kg of opium, 10kg of hashish and 20kg of poppy heads in 2023,” he added.

Last month, Delhi lieutenant governor VK Saxena had asked Delhi Police and other agencies concerned to take action against the properties and buildings being used for drug peddling.