Thiruvananthapuram, Sep 18: The Keralam government has constituted a specialised Anti-Narcotics Investigation Team to probe high-value drug trafficking cases involving interstate and international links, Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala said on Friday.
The new team will function through three units based in Thiruvananthapuram, Ernakulam and Kozhikode and will focus on identifying drug trafficking masterminds, wider networks and sources of narcotics supply, besides pursuing arrests and seizures, the minister said.
Inspector General Putta Vimaladitya, the nodal officer of Operation Toofan, will head the team, which began functioning on Friday following a government order, Chennithala said.
Each unit will comprise a Deputy Superintendent of Police, two Circle Inspectors, two Sub-Inspectors and other police personnel.
Under Operation Toofan, 10,918 cases have been registered and 11,776 people arrested in the state as of 10 a.m. Friday, the minister said.
The seizures include 23.925 kg of MDMA, 1,457 kg of cannabis, 5.32 grams of hashish oil, 707 grams of brown sugar, 530 grams of heroin, 27.6 grams of cocaine and 2,398 cannabis plants.
Chennithala said sustained enforcement had resulted in an estimated 20 to 30 per cent reduction in the supply of narcotic substances in the state. News On AIR also reported that the government’s focus would now shift from local distributors towards the main sources of drug supply.
The minister also announced the arrest of four more alleged members of an interstate drug trafficking network in connection with the seizure of around 13 kg of MDMA in Coimbatore, valued at approximately ₹10 crore. The arrests took the total number of people apprehended in the case to 13.
The accused were arrested from different locations, including Bhagalpur in Bihar and Chennai, while investigators also searched locations in Delhi, Noida, Kolkata, Bihar and Chennai. The network was suspected to have links across several states.
The second phase of Operation Toofan will begin on September 28, with greater emphasis on demand reduction, prevention, treatment, rehabilitation and social reintegration.
As part of the second phase, Toofan Janajagratha Samithis, or public awareness committees, will be established through local self-government institutions and at the ward level. The committees will work on drug-awareness initiatives and encourage timely intervention within families and communities.
