As many as 368 people have been arrested in 360 cases under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act in the first five days of Operation Clean Slate, the Excise department’s special drive against drugs, Minister for Excise M.B. Rajesh has said.
As many as 378 people were listed as accused in the cases. Drugs to the tune of ₹81.13 lakh were recovered from them. Seventeen accused who were in hiding were also arrested, the Minister said.
Excise officials conducted 2,181 inspections in five days. Apart from that, 39 inspections were also held in association with other departments. As many as 21,389 vehicles were inspected in this period, and 16 vehicles used for smuggling drugs seized by the police.
The inspections were held on 602 school premises, 152 bus stands, 59 labour camps, and 54 railway stations and those selling drugs arrested.
Drugs seized
The seized drugs included 56.09 g of MDMA, 23.11 g of methamphetamine, LSD, and nitrazepam tablets, 10.2 g of heroin, 4 g of charas, 2.05 g of hashish, 23.7 g of hashish oil, 77.8 kg of ganja, 43 ganja plants, and 96 g ganja bhang and beedis.
As many as 304 Abkari cases and 1,162 cases under the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act, 2003, were also detected, and 10,430 litres of spirit and 101.8 kg of tobacco products seized.
Operation Clean Slate will continue till March 12. The department will continue to act against drugs with widespread inspections centred round schools, colleges, bus stands, and railway stations, the Minister said.
Published – March 10, 2025 08:52 pm IST